Angel Tears in the Village Hidden in the Sky
by shadowoflight22
Summary: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade are sent on a mission that takes them into a new village to escort an ambassador but not everything is as it seems. Ambushed and without a guide they know they are needed for more than being an escort.
1. Prologue

The golden brown sun began lowering into the far off horizon. The wind blew cold and sharp. Though it was chilling, the sound of the blowing wind calmed the teenager sitting on top of Kikyo Tower.

Tsunade sat there, alone and calm. Her blonde hair was put into a single bushy ponytail, and it was waving up and down with the wind. Her cute round face was set into a stern emotion. Her light blue tunic with pink outlines followed in sync with her hair, and the red long red wristbands flexed along with her muscle.

Suddenly she twisted her head to her side.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" She snapped.

Another shinobi appeared behind her.

"You don't sound very happy to see me!" he laughed.

He had shock white bushy hair. Wearing a gray tunic with a dark green outline, he stood with his hands on his sides and a giant grin on his face. He was a few inches taller than Tsunade, who was about five feet tall.

"Maybe because I'm not." She replied

"Geez," He said "you treat me like such a pest!"  
"Maybe because you ARE!" she grunted

The grin transformed into a fake pout with his tongue sticking out.

"Well fine!" he pouted "Sarutobi sensei sent me here to get you, because we have a mission!"

"Oh really?" she said "Where?"

She finally turned around to face him.

"Wow, you really are pretty!" he commented "With the sunset behind you like that."

"Shut up." She said, she crossed her hands "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet." He sighed "He just sent me up here to get you. Orochimaru is already there."

"Oh, I see." She said "We should really get going then."

She walked past him, and continued on to the edge of Kikyo Tower. Jiraiya finally stood next to him.

"So…" he said "how about that date I was asking you on?"

"My answer was the same as last time and will be that answer every single time," she said "no."

"Oh man…" he sighed

She smirked and laughed.

"Oh, by the way," she said to him "keep your hair like that. I like it that way, you look cute that way. And not in a cute dog kind of way."

She gave him a cute smile and jumped down from Kikyo pass.

Jiraiya was blushing as he jumped and blushed the whole way down.

Inside the mission room was a complete frenzy. Leaf Shinobi were all over the room, some were giving out missions and others took missions earnestly.

Jiraiya and Tsunade found their other comrades and joined them.

Sarutobi and Orochimaru awaited them.

Their other student comrade was Orochimaru and looked and acted completely like a snake. His skin was white pale and hair was long and purple. He wore the same garb as Jiraiya but his was white with dark purple outlines.

Their teacher, Sarutobi, wore a dark robe over a striped shirt and pants. He had spiked hair and a goatee. His face was calm and very soft. It did not give away the true power he held.

Though he never showed his true capabilities, everyone in the village knew he would one day become Hokage after the Second Hokage retired.

"Ah, Tsunade, I see Jiraiya got you here without getting himself injured!" Sarutobi laughed.

"Yeah!" Jiraiya agreed "She almost did!"

"You're lucky I didn't!" Tsunade snapped "So I hear we have a mission?"

Sarutobi nodded.

"I have to go get someone," he replied "Orochimaru will debrief you."

Swiftly, Sarutobi walked through one of the room doors. He had to cross across the room to reach it.

Only Team Sarutobi remained. Orochimaru faced his two comrades.

It had been a while since they were all one group. Orochimaru had gone with Sarutobi to train outside of the village. Tsunade was in a tournament which lasted for a while. She had won but it took her a long time to win. Jiraiya was left all to himself to peep at girls at the bath house and to train.

Surprisingly, Jiraiya decided to train harder and actually came up with a new jutsu.

Now the three were once again one squad and preparing for a mission.

"Our mission will consist of us three escorting an ambassador back to his village." Orochimaru hissed "It is considered to be a rank C mission."

"Wait," Jiraiya said "only us three?"

"Without Sarutobi sensei?" Tsunade asked.

"Without him." Orochimaru nodded.

"Where are we going?" Jiraiya pestered.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes with annoyance at his comrade.

"We have not been told yet," he answered "but I have already seen our little customer."

"Really?" Tsunade said

"Yeah," Orochimaru nodded "but we should be very wary of her."

"Why?" Jiraiya said

"Something about her, when I was near her. Whatever it was." He answered "It just doesn't sit well with me."

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other with grins on their faces.

"You're just being paranoid!" Jiraiya laughed "Man, you really need to relax!"

"Be quiet fool." Orochimaru said

Sarutobi appeared in the doorway and beckoned for them to come to him. Orochimaru walked toward his teacher as the other two followed.

"It doesn't sit well with me!" Jiraiya said mockingly, imitating Orochimaru's voice.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but gave him a small laugh as they both walked behind Orochimaru.

They reached Sarutobi quickly and stood earnestly to see their employer, who still did not appear at the door.

Suddenly, Sarutobi's face turned from a happy demeanor to a serious one.

"Listen." He said in a whisper "Be careful with this one."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade whispered back

"I don't know what it is." Sarutobi answered "It just doesn't sit well with me."

A small grin suddenly appeared on Orochimaru's face.

Suddenly a voice was heard from behind Sarutobi.

"Hello." It echoed softly though the hall behind her.

Sarutobi moved aside to show the person behind him.

A small figure of a woman stood there who was about the same height of Orochimaru. She had dark black hair, and she was incredibly skinny. She wore a pitch black ensemble: A long sleeved shirt and pants. Her black sandals were covering her feet.

Two long bangs hung over her two temples. Her face had soft features and her smile showed innocence which resembled a child's

But even with this, Jiraiya and Tsunade could see Orochimaru's body tense a bit.

"Hello." Sarutobu answered "Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Tsunade this is Mitsuba.

Mitsuba bowed to the shinobi.

"Nice to meet you all." Mitsuba smiled sweetly "I thank you all in advance for aiding in me during my trek back home."

"No problem!" Tsunade smiled.

"Yeah," Jiraiya laughed "We wouldn't let someone as pretty as you get harmed on the way back!"  
**SMACK!!**

Jiraiya instantly grabbed his already red face.

Tsunade wiped her hand on her shirt, like she had just slapped a bug.

"Shut up, Jiraiya." Tsundae sighed "You just met her and you're already flirting?"

"What's wrong, jealous?" Jiraiya said

"Jealous!" Tsunade screamed "What would I be jealous of!"  
"Because I'm flirting with someone else and not you!"Jiraiya smirked

"Why you little!" Tsunade shouted.

She raised her hand threateningly.

"Please excuse my comrades." Orochimaru apologized.

"Yeah," Sarutobi also agreed "They always act like an old married couple."

"It's ok!" She smiled "I don't mind."

"So anyway," Orochimaru said "Where is it that you need us to escort you to? How far will we have to walk?"  
Her face switched into seriousness and her voice lowered.

"Walking will not be our only means of travel." She answered.

Instantly Tsunade and Jiraiya silenced themselves, and both Orochimaru and Sarutobi listned intently.

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru inquired.

"We're not headed to any village you've been to before." She answered "No one has ever visited us for hundreds of years."

"So why ask us for our help?" Orochimaru pushed.

"Because I was told you were the best group to help," she said pointing to Sarutobi "they say he's going to become Hokage one day."

"Why, thank you but-" Sarutobi said

"Never mind that," Orochimaru cut through "you still have not told us where we are taking you."

"In the Village," she said "Hidden in the Sky."

The characters of the three legendary sannin: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade as well as Sarutobi are not mine but are from the Naruto Franchise.

The Jutsus are also part of the Naruto franchise.

The rest of the characters are my own.


	2. Chapter 1: Ambushed

"The village hidden in the sky?" Jiraiya blurted "Where the heck is that?"

Mitsuba merely looked at him, without saying a word.

"I've heard of it." Sarutobi answered "It's a series of floating islands in the sky. Am I right?"  
"Yes." She whispered lower "We have not been visited for many years, we have been very peaceful."

"I heard that your people watched over the Great Shinobi war and decided not to fight in it." Orochimaru asked.

"Of course!" she answered "Why would we want to meddle with your trivial earthly fights?"

"Why are you here now?" Orochimaru pressed.

"That's none of your business." She replied calmly "I'm paying you to escort me, not to question me!"

"Ok!" Sarutobi cut in with a hearty laugh "Why don't we get started?"

"Yes, we should." Orochimaru agreed "We don't want to waste time."

"Of course not." Mitsuba sighed "But before we leave I need to pick up some of my stuff."

She bowed.

"Please excuse me." She said

She turned around and disappeared into the hall.

"Listen." Sarutobi whispered "I know I said this already, but please be very careful with this one."

"Of course Sensei." Tsunade answered.

"Orochimaru has already noticed it, haven't you?" Sarutbi smiled.

Orochimaru merely nodded his head.

"Well then," Sarutobi said "all I can say now is good luck."

Sarutobi turned to leave.

"Wait Sensei!" Jiraiya called out "You still haven't chosen a team leader for this mission!"

"Oh be quiet Jiraiya." Tsunade snapped "You and I both know that Orochimaru is going to team leader…as always."

Sarutobi stopped in his tracks without turning around.

"You know, that is a very good point." Sarutobi said "Jiraiya you're squad leader for this mission."

His student's mouth's hung open.

"Me!" Jiraiya gasped "Squad leader!?"  
"Ji-rai-ya!" she stuttered "Sensei, are you feeling okay?"  
"He's never been squad leader before." Orochimaru said, with a hint of annoyance "This is something new."

"Exactly." Sarutobi said "You call the shots Jiraiya. Tsunade and Orochimaru will have to follow your orders."

It took a moment for his last order to register.

"Yes sir!" They all replied in unison.

They all assembled in front of the village's main gate. It's gigantic doors were wide open.

Mitsuba gave the general direction they had to walk for the next twenty four hours.

An excited shinobi raised his fist into the air.

"All right, team!" Jiraiya laughed "Let's head out!"

He started marching exaggeratingly forward on his own.

Orochimaru treaded softly behind his excited comrade. His mind was apparently elsewhere, with his head toward the clear blue sky.

The environment gave apparent evidence where the village hidden in the leaves had earned its name. Trees, about ten feet in height, surrounded the four young teens, but they could clearly see the sky above them. The leaves blew softly against the wind. Other than the exaggerated sounds of Jiraiya's eagerness, it was completely silent.

Tsunade stayed at a slower pace with their client.

"So is he always this excited?" Mitsuba asked

"Well, this is his first time being squad leader." Tsunade replied "Sometimes I'm squad leader, but most of the time it's Orochimaru over there. All three of us know that he's Sarutobi sensei's favorite student."

Tsunade laughed to herself.

"Besides he is the best out of the three of us." Tsunade admitted.

"Oh!" Mitsuba laughed "He's the best of the Legendary Sannin?"

"Yeah." Tsunade replied "But how did you know about us?"

Mitsuba laughed.

"You three have made a name for yourselves." She said, pointing to Jiraiya "That's Jiraiya, the toad sage. He can summon different kinds of toads!"

"Yeah, sounds about right." Tsunade said "You forgot to mention he's a pervert."

"What really?" Mitsuba gaped "Him? A pervert?"

"Yeah, his favorite past time is peeping at girls!" Tsunade laughed at her reaction

"Wow…talk about surprise." Mitsuba smiled "And that's Orochimaru, the Great Snake. He's the one that can summon snakes, and is a complete snake himself.""

"Yeah." Tsunade answered "Kind of freaks me out sometimes."

"And you, Lady Tsunade, Grandson of the past Hokage," She said "and the queen of slugs and elixirs."

"Yup, that's me!" She laughed

"And I also heard you're pretty strong!" she added

"I guess I am." Tsunade shrugged

In front of the Jiraiya had slowed down and had started heckling Orochimaru.

"Hey there, buddy!" Jiraiya laughed loudly "How are you!"  
Behind them Tsunade and Mitsuba were talking again.

"Why don't we talk about you now?" Tsunade asked.

"What is there to know about me?" Mitsuba asked

"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked

"Well," Mitsuba said "Our village may not spend a lot of time down on earth but we like to try and keep diplomatic connections with the many villages down here."

"Oh." Tsunade nodded

"Besides those who know of us always want to make allies of us." She continued.  
"Really?" Tsunade asked "Why?"

"Because of the military advantage they would gain from us." Mitsuba explained.

"Oh!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Yeah," she continued "imagine the advantage a village would have to have a base in an area that can see over almost every single village there is."

"Hmmm, yes." Tsunade agreed "That would be an incredible advantage. Are you allies with anyone right now?"  
"No," she answered "we're neutral right now. Actually that's the reason why I came to the village hidden in the leaves."

"Why?" Tsunade asked

"Well it seems we may need help from the strongest village on earth." Mitsuba continued "We're having some problems now."

"Really?" Tsunade said "What kind of problems?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't give out that information yet." She said

"Oh." Tsunade nodded.

They continued to walk in silence for a few moments. The Tsunade gazed toward the sky.

"Uh oh." She said

"What's wrong?" Mitsuba asked

"Weather is really good today." Tsunade explained pointing to the sky above them.

"Is that not a good thing?" Mitsuba asked.

"Normally, yes." Tsunade said "But yesterday I made a harmless bet with a friend that the weather would be nice today."

"Well, you win right?" Mitsuba said

"That's just it." Tsunade said "When I win a bet. It usually spells trouble for me and anyone else."

"Really?" Mitsuba asked innocently

Suddenly Jiraiya and Orochimaru turned around, their faces serious.

"Tsunade, Mitsuba!" Jiraiya shouted "Get down!"  
Instantly both females jumped and landed face flat.

A wave of kunai knives cut through the space that the two girls had just occupied. Tsunade turned her head and saw the knives pierce in the trees.

Feeling no more flying above her, she got up and looked around.

In front of her, a fight had started.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were being covered by at least twenty shinobi. Though she knew that her comrades would not have any trouble, she began to quickly wonder how they could be ambushed so quickly into the mission.

Then another group of shinobi appeared in front of her and in a matter of seconds she heard feet landing all around her.

They had created a circular perimeter around her and Mitsuba of about ten shinobi. Now her main goal was to protect their client.

"Mitsuba!" she turned.

To her dismay, Mitsuba was laying on the floor.

Quickly Tsunade kneeled and checked Mitsuba. She smiled when she realized that Mitsuba was not dead but only unconscious.

"Well then," she sighed "It looks like I need to fight."

Suddenly five of them charged at her.

The first one to reach her was grabbed by one of her powerful arms and found himself being thrown into one of the other charging ninjas. They were thrown back, and their comrades stopped in their tracks.

"Anyone else?" She taunted.

Her attention was now away from Mitsuba and faced the bulk of her attackers. Suddenly she felt the ground give way under her.

Instinctively she turned around to grab Mitsuba's body.

It was nowhere to be found.

"What the heck?" Tsunade grunted.

Almost a second too late, Tsunade jumped high in the air.

Quickly she surveyed the ground beneath her. She could she see the shinobi that had encircled her and both Jiraiya and Orochimaru had defeated all their adversaries and were setting their aims toward the second group.

Swiftly she landed in the middle of her comrades.

"Listen," she said quickly "Mitsuba's been taken we have to--"

"We know." Orochimaru interjected "I sensed it the moment we left the village."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"That's why he was so quiet." Jiraiya muttered "He knew there was trouble and I didn't."

The remaining shinobi formed a line in front of them and looked at them, but none of them made a move.

"Well shouldn't we get Mitsuba back?" Tsunade shouted.

"I don't think we can allow to do that." A voice said from behind the three.

The three turned to find three figures looking at them. The one in the middle was the tallest and he held Mitsuba over his right shoulder.

He had a strong build, and his face was chiseled that made him look uncivilized yet like he held the most power between him and his comrades. He looked like he was in his late twenties or younger thirties. He wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt with light brown pants and sandals nearly identical to Jiraiya's.

A gigantic blade was strapped on his back. It was thick and at least a feet in width.

There was another male. He had red hair that reached past his ear and wore a dark long robe. He face was round and he had a comical smile. Unlike the other male member, he looked like he was still in his teens.

A long blade was strapped on his back, but from they could see they were able to tell that it was a reverse blade.

The third member was a girl. She was definitely in her teens or really younger twenties. Her hair was put into a ponytail like Tsunade's but it was more in order than Tsunade. She wore a big light blue robe that covered her body. She seemed far more serious than the other two.

Also on her back was a weapon, but instead of only one there were two blades strapped on her back.

"So you are the Legendary Sannin." The middle one boomed "You're not as great as we have heard."

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked

"You are quite famous," he answered "we know all about you in our village. Orochimaru, the Great Snake. Jirayia the Toad Sage."

"And Tsunade, the princess of slugs and elixirs." The red haired one said "Man, you're as pretty as they say you are."

"Shut up." Tsunade snapped, a growl on her face.

"Oh!" he smiled "You look prettier when you're mad!"  
Tsunade balled her fists and charged.

Two different arms barred her way.

"Don't you dare get in my way, either of you!" she shouted "I'll bull through both of you in a second!"

"Calm down, Tsunade!" Jiraiya replied calmly, still gazing at their new opponents but also making sure they were not to be attacked from behind.

"Why should I calm down?" she spat at Jiraiya "I could tear them all apart!"

"No," Orochimaru hissed "we do not know that. As strong as you are, we are still not sure what these thugs are capable of. Those swords are not only for show."

"Why should I listen to you two?" Tsunade answered between clenched teeth.

"Because Sarutobi sensei put me in charge!" Jiraiya replied "And you will do as I say."

Tsunade's fist close and opened slowly and her eyes still overflowed with annoyance. Her body still tensed up, but slowly her breathing calmed.

She finally let out a deep breath and released her fists.

"Better." Orochimaru said.

He nodded to Jiraiya.

"Who are you people and what do you want?" Jiraiya asked

The biggest and middle one stepped forward to answer him.

"Are you the leader of the three sannin?" he asked

"I guess you can say that." Jiraiya replied "What of it?"

"First of all," he laughed deeply, he hard set jaw curved a bit "you three are not as good as people say you are. Defeated easily by a small band of shinobi."

The three sannin kept their glare at him.

"Well, in any case, my name is Gau." He said "These are my partners Deidara."

He pointed to the grinning male next to him and then to the blonde girl next to him.

"And Koji." He said

Still the three did not react.

"So I see none of you have heard of us?" Deidara asked.

"Why would we?" Tsunade asked

Koji shrugged and gave a small smile. She spoke, but when she spoke her voice was very smooth and melodic.

"We are very well known in all the provinces near our village, like you are in the provinces down here." She explained "Much like you, The Legendary Sannin, we hold a title as well."

"And I'm going to guess it has something to do with your swords?" Orochimaru asked.

"That's right!" Deidara laughed.

All three drew their blades.

Gau swung his heavy blade over his free shoulder. Though it looked incredibly heavy, he moved it as if it were nothing more than a wooden stick.

Deidara spun his blade around for a few seconds showing off his speed and quickness. The reverse blade was merely a blur for a few seconds.

And finally Koji brought out her own weapon. Just like her voice, she melodically twirled the blade between her fingers.

"We are known," Gau said "as the Crimson Blades."

"The Crimson Blades are four of the best swordsman in our world as well as in yours." Deidara claimed "No one can beat us!"  
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya could see Orochimaru's face change from concentration to an amused one.

"Four?" Orochimaru hissed softly "I count only three."

"Well our fourth is not here." Gau replied.

"Well, well." Orochimaru laughed to himself "As great as you all are, I noticed that none of you have the legendary blade, Kusanagi."

"You mean that extendable blade that is only supposed to be held by the greatest swordsman in the entire world?" Deidara asked "That's only in legend! No one will ever get that and even if anyone were to get it, only our leader Gau here would get it!"

Orochimaru began laughing a sinister laugh.

"What's so funny?" Deidara demanded

"Nothing." Koji said "But I think we are about to see Kusanagi."

"What? Where?" Deidara nearly jumped "You mean it is real?"

"Yeah and we're about to see it." Koji nodded

Slowly Orochimaru bent over and opened his mouth.

"Oh man," Jiraiya moaned "I hate it when he does this."

A snake slowly protruded from his mouth. After it's head was fully out of his mouth, the snake itself opened it's mouth and something slowly came out.

A long sword came out, it glowed with a light blue hue. It stayed connected inside the snake's mouth but the hilt could already be seen.

"Kusunagi." Deidara's mouth hung open, genuinely amazed at the sight in front of him "The unbreakable sword."

Orochimaru raised his head until he could look them at the face, but the sword still hung in front of him.

"So you still think we're not good at all?" Orochimaru chided

"It looks like we were wrong about that." Koji admitted "But still it's disgusting how you use it."

Slowly Gau gave Deidara Mitsuba's body.

"Hold her." Gau ordered "I want to test the strength of the best of the legendary sannin."

"The best?" Jiraiya gaped "I told you I was the leader of this squad!"

"Don't push it." Tsunade warned "He seems strong."

"I can hold my own against him!" Jiraiya argued.

"Maybe," Tsunade agreed "but I think Orochimaru would do better at this since he also uses a sword."

Jiraiya's arm down and he breathed deeply.

"So squad leader," Orochimaru asled mockingly "do I have permission to do battle?"

"Oh all right." Jiraiya pouted "No one ever wants to fight me!"  
A smirk appeared on Koji's face.

"I'd like to fight you." She smiled seducingly with her sensual voice.

Jiraiya blushed and was tongue tied.

"Be quiet." Tsunade said "Only I get to beat him up!"

Gau flexed his muscles and rolled it in his hand.

"Enough talk," Gau boomed " we fight now!"

"Bring it on!" Orochimaru laughed.  
Suddenly both Gau and Orochimaru dashed forward.

**CLANG!!**

In no more than a blink of an eye, Orochimaru and Gau had ran through the distance in between them and met halfway. Now they stood sword to sword bearing on each other.

Orochimaru was in an upward swing, while Gau was pushing downward and pressing Orochimaru to the floor.

Even faster than before, Orochimaru began weaving hand signs with his free hands.

"With the sword in your mouth, you take away the handicap of fighting with a weapon." Gau admired "You're no amateur."

"Thanks for noticing!" Orochimaru seethed "Earth Style: Jagged Rock barrage!"

The ground started shaking and the earth beneath them started moving.

Just in time Gau jumped high in the air.

Beneath him, sharp jagged rocks had come up from the ground from where he was standing on minutes before.

He landed with a thud a few feet away from his opponent.

"Try that again!" Gau taunted

"With pleasure!" Orochimaru licked his lips "Jagged Rock Barrage!"

Sharp rocks erupted by Gau and were headed straight for him. Showing quickness that was very rare for someone his height and size, Gau was able to dodge but it was apparent that he could not continue for long.

"He's screwed!" Jiraiya laughed "I could have taken him!"

"It's not over yet." Tsunade replied.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked "Orochimaru's got him cornered, there's no where else he can go!"

"He doesn't need to go anywhere," Tsunade explained "all he has to do is shatter those rocks."

"But those are solid!" Jiraiya argued

"He has that strength." Tsunade replied, becoming irritated "Just shut up and watch."

With a quick motion Gau dodged the last of the rocks.

And now they encircled him like a death trap.

Orochimaru closed his palm, showing what his next would be.

"Die!" Orochimaru shouted

All the sharp rocks enclosed on Gau.

**BAM!!**

Rocks were flying everywhere.

Anyone near them had to cover their eyes just make sure the rocks did not enter them.

Within the erupting rocks, the form of Gau's body could be seen. He was swinging his heavy sword while also making use of his free hand. Rocks burst as he made contact with sword and fist.

"Told you." Tsunade grunted blocking her eyes.

Finally the works stopped moving. Orochimaru prepared for another assault, his hands already beginning on another jutsu.

Gau was nowhere to be found.

It remained silent.

Snap.

A twig had snapped from behind Orochimaru, and it was the loudest sound to everyone.

Instantly everyone turned their attention towards the sound.

Gau's body was already twenty feet in the air and was coming down fast, but it was not that fact that made Tsunade and Jiraiya scream out their comrade's name.

Gau's sword was now pulsating with a blue light formed out of Gau's own chakra. It was now three feet longer and thicker.

"Get out of the way, Orochimaru!" Tsunade screamed "That's raw chakra!"

"Fool, move!" Jiraiya shouted.

Orochimaru merely smirked.

"They worry too much." Orochimaru breathed to himself "I can block this."

**BOOM!!**

The ground shook from the impact and the other two sannin nearly lost their footing. The once green and straight path had been pushed a few inches down and trees had been blown away, completely uprooted.

Orochimaru stood unrepressed against the gigantic body of Gau, who was still above him, and his sword, which was as equally as big as he was.

**CRACK!!**

A chill ran through Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Both fighters jumped back.

They looked at one another with a dark look in their eye.

"What's this?" Orochimaru looked at his blade curiously "Kusanagi has never been cracked before."

"This is interesting." Gau said, talking mostly to himself and inspecting his blade "So it is true."

Suddenly he signaled something to the men behind Tsunade and Jiraiya. Taking a quick look the two sannin saw the shinobi behind them jump over and land next to their leaders.

Gau himself started running toward his group.

"We leave now!" He ordered "Deidara, detain them!"

"You got it!" Deidara laughed.

He started weaving his hands into signs. The renegade shinobi started running away, all except Deidara.

"On no you don't!" Jiraiya shouted "You're not getting away!"

Both he and Tsunade charged and were quickly alongside Orochimaru

"You fools no!" Orochimaru warned

But it was too late.

"Earth style: Mud Trap!" Deidara grinned.

The ground beneath the sannin turned to mush.

Suddenly a gigantic wave of mud appeared in front of them.

"Oh crud!" Jiraiya said between clenched teeth "Fell right for it!"

The sannin braced themselves as the wave came crashing down. The impact never came, but when they opened their eyes they knew they were in trouble.

Not only did they have to find the village hidden in the sky without a guide, now they were stuck in a dome prison made up of mud.


	3. Chapter 2: Village Hidden in the Sky

The lone male shinobi stood in front of the mud trap. His orders were to keep the jutsu going and to kill any shinobi who tried to escape or he found once the jutsu was finished.

"I feel bad for whoever is in there," he laughed to himself "this jutsu is slowly going to crush them."

Then a voice came from inside the muck.

"Hey!" A girl's voice came out.

He suddenly got excited. The only female he remembered was one and she was pretty. Back in his village not many girls would even talk to him, now he saw his chance.

"Yeah?" he called back

"Is there anyway you can let me and my friends out of here?" she asked innocently.

"Sorry, no can do." He replied "My orders were to keep you three in there until I run out of chakra. By then you'll all probably be dead."

"But I don't want to die!" she whined "How about you just let me out?"

"How do I know it will only be you?" he replied "How your other two friends?"

Her voice fell to a whisper.

"Their both asleep," she explained quietly "they can't hear a word we're saying!"

The shinobi thought about it.

"Well," he thought out loud "why not? I'll do it under one condition."

"And what's that?" she asked

"That you go out with me sometime." He answered

"Sure!" she sounded pretty happy "I'd gladly go with you!"

"Ha! A girl like you will definitely make Kairi regret she turned me down!" he laughed "My name's Beltrano what's yours?"

"Her name's Tsunade." A voice said behind him "And only I get to ask her out."

A sharp chill crept down his back.

"What the?" He turned his head "How did you two get out?"

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood behind him.

"We're the three legendary shinobi." Jiraiya laughed "A weak jutsu like that won't beat us."

"How?" he cried shocked "The mud should have consumed all of you! Any movement in there should have caused the mud to constrict!"

"Hehehehe." Orochimaru laughed "You really are naïve aren't you? We barely moved at all. The only thing we had to do was ask our Tsunade to forcibly open the ground beneath us with her strength."

An image of the girl throwing one of his companions into another ran through Beltrano's mind and he realized just how strong that girl was.

"But I would have noticed!" he complained even more.

Orochimaru's face began to be filled with annoyance.

"You know, you would be dead by now if we did not have a use for you." He said "We used the girl as a decoy to keep your mind away from us."

"A use?" Beltrano asked "What use do you have for me?"

"You'll see soon enough." Jiraiya answered hastily "But we really have to get going. Tsunade you can bull through now!"

"Finally!" a voice inside boomed, it was the same girl's voice but somehow the inflection was different "You guys always take so long!"

Beltrano felt the inside of the muck begin to vibrate.

"But if she tries anything," Beltrano warned "It will constrict her!"

Both the sannin behind him laughed.

"Only one person has ever been able to restrain Tsunade," Jiraiya laughed "and you're nowhere near as good enough to equal him!"  
Suddenly Beltrano felt himself flying into the air, eyes closed to keep the debris out of them.

He hit something, it felt like a body, and landed with a thud on his bottom. Opening his eyes he found himself looking straight into the eyes of Tsunade.

He blushed. He was never this close to a girl.

"And that's what happens when you piss of a sannin." She said

"Wow, you look like an angel." He said in awe.

She got up and walked away. Jiraiya followed her as well.

Suddenly the earth beneath him moved and he could feel it restraining him. Slowly it forced him into a standing position. Then Orochimaru stepped in front of him.

"Be grateful you got a piece of heaven," he smiled menacingly "because now you'll have to go through more pain than you've ever known."

"What?" Beltrano gasped.

Suddenly the world around him began to change.

"How in the world?" he gasped.

Orochimaru's eyes were mere slits now, and pierced through his mind.

"You're in my world now!" Orochimaru laughed "And you will answer me, or you will feel pain!"

Meanwhile the other two sannin had their backs turned to Orochimaru and his prisoner. They had both sat down, and gazed toward the sky. Jiraiya was sitting cross legged. As she laid on her stomach next to Jiraiya, Tsunade had to cover her eyes because of the sunlight.

The sky was still clear and the trees in front of them were unaffected by battle that was fought only minutes before.

Smoothly a blue bird landed on Tsunade's open palm. It began singing as if enjoying her beauty.

Suddenly they could hear groans of pain behind them and they both knew Orochimaru had begun his torturous genjutsu.

"It freaks me out when he does that." Jiraiya moaned

"Yeah, he does a lot of things that freak me out." Tsunade replied, still looking at the bird on her hand.

Jiraiya merely nodded and looked toward the sky; his normally energetic face was filled with seriousness and strength.

She had known Jiraiya since they were kids and she knew instantly something was wrong.

"Hey Jiraiya!" she laughed, giving him her best smile.

"Yeah?" He replied unenthusiastically

"When we finish this mission do you want to go out?" She asked

"Sure…" He shrugged.

Slowly the bird fluttered away, as if sensing the tension that had grown.

"All right, something's wrong." Tsunade concluded, shifting her body so she could look straight at Jiraiya "Spill it."

"What makes you think something is wrong?" Jiraiya asked, still unable to look her in the eye.

"I just asked you out." She said bluntly "Now the Jiraiya I know would have either fainted or peed in his pants if I ever say that. And the one time I do he gives me a "sure", that's it! A sure! Do you know how many people I ask out?"

"Not very much." Jiraiya gave a small laugh

"Exactly." She said "Now, what's wrong?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath, and gazed even harder toward the sky.

"I was just thinking." Jiraiya said

"About what?" Tsunade asked

"If Sarutobi sensei made the right decision in making me squad leader." Jiraiya confessed.

Tsunade looked at him confuse.

"What do you mean?" she asked "We're all safe and once we now where we're supposed to head then we'll be there in no time!"

"We're not all safe." Jiraiya answered quietly.

"Sure we are!" Tsunade replied "You and I are safe here. And Orochimaru's over there doing what he does."

"But that wasn't all of us." Jiraiya said

"What do you-" she said "Oh yeah. Mitsuba."

"Uh huh." Jiraiya nodded "I lost her and we do not even know where they are headed. And I didn't even notice the shinobi that were tailing us until Orochimaru pointed it out."

"Oh don't worry about it!" she laughed it off "You were probably so excited to be squad leader. Besides that's why they made squads and not one man teams. So the other members can help you out, even if you are squad leader."

" I guess." Jiraiya shrugged again "Still I can't help but worry."

"Worry about what?" Tsunade asked.

"What will happen when the time comes." Jiraiya answered.

"When what time comes?" She continued

"I don't know, I mean I know as squad leader your lives are in my hands." He explained "But when the time comes for me to step up as one, will I make the right choice?"

Tsunade flipped her body over so that she was now laying on her back and gazing upward to the sky.

"Sarutobi sensei had faith in you." She answered "Do you really think he would have made you squad leader?"

"Maybe he was being nice." Jiraiya answered.

"Sensei may be kind, but he knows to be serious when he has to be." Tsunade retorted "Besides Orochimaru and I have faith in you."

"But you nearly had a heart attack when Sarutobi sensei I should be squad leader!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

They both laughed.

"Yeah I guess I almost did huh?" She laughed "Don't worry about it, I say a lot of things."

This seemed to lift Jiraiya's spirits as a shadow of his goofy smile showed.

She sat up with her legs now extended on the floor and she looked Jiraiya in the eye. With a small gleam of a smile he looked at her as well.

"Look you're on of the sannin," she sighed "If anyone will pull through it's going to be you. I think even Orochimaru believes in you. As cold as he seems he holds you in high regard."

Then she raised her right hand and extended her pointing finger. Jiraiya winced as it was nearing his head.

She shook her head and smiled.

She placed her finger on his head.

"Don't let a win get to your head." She said

The slowly her finger slid down his face and on the left side of his chest, where his heart was beating.

"And don't let a lose get to your heart." She smiled

Finally, he returned her smile with one of his own.

She dropped her finger and pointed at the direction of Orochimaru.

"Looks like he's done." She said "He's headed here right now…with the poor kids unconscious body."

Jiraiya turned around and saw Orochimaru approaching. Both of them got up and waited for their comrade.

"Well, I got what we need." Orochimaru hissed "I know where we have to go and what to do once we get there."

The other two nodded.

'What about this kid?" Jiraiya asked

"He's unconscious." Orochimaru laughed "After what I did to him, it's amazing that he's still alive! We should just leave him here, he'll probably die anyway."

Tsunade shuddered.

"Let me take a look at him." Tsunade said.

Gingerly Orochimaru handed the boy over to her. She placed him down and began examining his head.

"What did you do to him?" she gasped "Without and medical aid soon, he could die!"

"I made him witness his own death." Orochimaru shrugged "Over and over and over again."

"You must have overdone it." Tsunade concluded "I'll try and use my medic ninjutsu but what this boy needs is to be home with his family so his mind can be at ease."

She placed both her palms over Beltrano's head and a small light green aura emitted from her hands.

"Why not just leave him to die," Orochimaru said "He'll only slow us down."

He turned at looked toward the direction away from Konoha.

"We need to get there before sunset," Orochimaru claimed "so that means we have to go now!"

"All right, we go." Jiraiya agreed.

"But what of Beltrano?" Tsunade snapped, she quickly stopped using her healing "We can't just leave him here to die!"

"We're not." Jiraiya assured "And we are going to make it in time."

He picked up Beltrano's body and swung it over his shoulder.

"I'll carry him." Jiraiya said "Orochimaru lead the way, and Tsunade can you watch my back just in case there are other shinobi waiting to attack?"

Tsunade nodded.

Orochimaru laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jiraiya asked

"Just now." Orochimaru explained "You're finally starting to sound like a squad leader. I was beginning to worry about you and if sensei made the right decision."

He gave Jiraiya a soft punch to his chest.

"All right squad Jiraiya!" Jiraiya exclaimed "Let's go!"

Orochimaru jumped forward into the trees with Jiraiya following behind him. Tsunade waited a few seconds before jumping behind them.

The trees and landscape were relatively the same as they jumped and raced from tree to tree. They had no trouble from any other enemies, but it was taking a long time to reach their destination.

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade were wondering when they would possibly reach their destination when suddenly Orochimaru dove down into the trees.

They both followed and found themselves in a deep underbrush, with only small light coming from dense forestry above them.

Orochimaru stood in front of them and was raising his hand, motioning them to come closer but to stay as quiet as possible.

Both of them walked until they were inches behind him. Then slowly they saw a movement in his arms.

A snake slithered out from each arm.

Slowly they began slithering to the ground and onto a mass of underbrush in front of them. A few minutes passed and still nothing happened.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade whispered.

"Wait." Orochimaru snapped "It should happen very soon."

On cue, the ground started to rumble. The underbrush began to away on its own accord to reveal what it was hiding.

There was hole in the wall that was about ten feet tall.

"How did you do that?" Tsunade asked

"There are different recesses in the wall with buttons in them," Orochimaru explained "you have to press the right buttons and the same time. But the tricky part is that you can't press the wrong ones or it won't open for days."

"How did you tell which on is which?" Jiraiya pondered

"They each have a smell that contains human hands on it since it is the most often pressed." Orochimaru explained.

"Should we go in?" Jiraiya asked

Orochimaru nodded.

"After this there is no perils, but I need to recite a chant in the room we are to enter in that tunnel before we can reach the village." Orochimaru explained

Jiraiya nodded.

"I'll take Beltrano." Tsunade offered "You go ahead and go first Jiraiya."

Quickly switching luggage, Jiraiya went first. Then came Tsunade and behind her Orochimaru.

At first the tunnel was dark and smelled of old dying plants. After a few minutes, Jiraiya saw a light near the end of the tunnel.

Abruptly he stopped in his tracks and rose his hand.

"Good, Jiraiya" Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya brought out a kunai knife and threw it to the light.

There was a clang but the kunai knife had merely flown a few feet in front of him.

"I thought so." Jiraiya said.

He folded his right hand and extended his middle and point finger upwards.

"Kai break!" he said.

Slowly the image of the light faded away and an old door remained. It had needles jutting from it's front.

Slowly Jiraiya put his head in front of the spikes.

"They're laced with poison." Jiraiya said

"So how do we get through?" Tsunade asked

"Leave it to me." Jiraiya assured

He configured his fingers so that his thumbs and pointing fingers created a triangle.

"Wind Style: Hurra-wind!" he whispered.

And wave of wind energy erupted from his fingers and pushed against the wall. It sent the door flying into the room behind it.

They entered it and found a dome room with a big hole at its ceiling. It was completely empty except for the door that laid broken at the end of the room.

"Now what do we do?" Jiraiya asked

"Over here." Orochimaru said passing Jiraiya.

He stepped in the middle of the beam of light. It was incredibly blinding but they were able to see outlines of each other.

"Now listen," Orochimaru said "We need to form a triangle and look up toward the sky."

They did so without much difficulty.

"And Tsunade before I recite the chant," Orochimaru said "I think that it would be best that you drop Beltrano."

Tsunade gave a reluctant grunt.

"Do not worry." Orochimaru assured "He will be coming with us, it is only a safety precaution."

"For what?" Tsunade asked.

"When we reach the village," Orochimaru explained "There might be trouble."

Finally conceding, Tsunade dropped the unconscious body to the floor. And soon all three were gazing toward the light.

Everything was silent until Orochimaru's coarse yet clear voice cut through.

"I bring about darkness and light. I bring about death and life." Orochimaru said "I am the destroyer and the liberator. And I alone decide the fate of the world."

Orochimaru remained quiet for a moment.

"I am Chaos!" He shouted.

**Flash**

The light grew stronger and all three had to squint their eyes.

Slowly the light lessened in strength, and it allowed Jiraiya to open his eyes. They were no longer the dome room, but rather they were out in open air and the sky could be clearly seen.

Tsunade gazed around in awe. Beltrano's body was in the middle of them.

"Where are we?" Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru pointed toward a ledge behind them.

"Look over there." He said "And Tsunade hold his shoulder."

"Why would she need to hold my shoulder?" Jiraiya asked as he walked toward the ledge."

Tsunade followed and kept a firm grip on Jiraiya's shoulder. They were nearing the ledge.

"What could he possibly mean by making you hold my shoulder! It's not like I'm a little-" Jiraiya stopped in mid sentence "What the heck!"

As Jiraiya looked over the ledge he knew instantly where they were. He was gazing at ground, but the ground was over thousands of feet below him.

They were on a floating island in the sky. They had finally made it.

They were in the Village Hidden in the Sky.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

In a forgotten home found in one of the towns of the village hidden in the sky, a lone cloaked man knew of the entrance of the sannin and was conducting his own arrival. Though he was alone he knew that the people he was waiting for would soon be there.

The room his was in was shrouded in darkness, with the only light coming from two dirty windows found at the right side of the wall and one on top of the room. The blurry light from these windows were superfluous except to illuminate the cloaked man and what was in front of him.

In front of him there was a table that had a chessboard on it. There were pieces already taken out of the game. The white side had nearly it's full force except for two pawns missing. The black side was not as lucky. It had lost nearly all of it's pieces except for five pawns, a bishop, a queen, and a king.

He sat behind the desk and the pitch black cloak he wore covered his arms and even his face.

The door creaked open in front of him, and in entered three people armed with swords. One carried an unconscious body and placed it on the floor in front of the cloaked man.

"Gau, you have done well." His voice was barely a whisper "The three sannin have made it here in time."

All three knelt down and bowed in front of the cloaked man.

"Thank you my Lord." Gau said "Getting them here was easier than expected."

"All the shinobi from Konoha are easily fooled when they think they are playing the hero." He laughed softly "Now the wheels are finally turning, but we must be very careful in order to execute are plans and attain our ultimate goal."

"My Liege," Koji's methodic voice broke in "what are we to do now?"

The cloaked man put his hands together in front of his face in a thinking posture. He remained silent for a few minutes.

Slowly he reached out toward the black pieces in the dead zone. He picked out three pieces from: two knights and a rook. He placed them near the black king.

"It seems as though new pieces have been put into play and our opponent have gained new warriors." He though out loud "We do not need to take them out just yet. Instead we will use them for our own cause, as was initially planned."

He moved one of the white pawns forward.

"And very soon one of their pieces will become ours." He voice seemed to smile at the thought.

"What are you talking about my lord?" Gau asked

Still the cloaked man did not make an answer for a few seconds.

"We will need to use the sannin's heroism to our advantage." He said softly "Make sure that they hear and understand the pilgrimage that is about to begin."

"Yes sir!" all three said

"I do not care who the other guardians of the new sacrifice will be," he continued "just make sure that those three are part of the sacrafice's entourage."

All three nodded again.

Suddenly the cloaked man started to have a coughing fit.

"Gah!" he screamed loudly between a cough.

Blood splattered all over the chessboard.

"Blood spilled." He moaned in between coughs "There will be a bloody battle very soon."

"My Lord!" Gau got up

"No!" he shouted

Quickly he brought out a glass bottle from within his cloak. It held a light blue liquid. He gulped it down quickly and slowly his coughing stopped.

He raised a shaking finger toward the unconscious body.

"She will also be needed for this." He said, still catching his breath "You decide what she will be needed for."

Gau nodded and motioned for one of his comrades to carry Mitsuba. Deidara walked over and placed her in both his arms.

"Go," he said, his voice returning "make sure you do not fail."

"Never." Gau promised.

The all got up and turned to leave.

"Wait!" he called after them "Gau, your blade, it's been slightly cracked. I thought it was supposed to be unbreakable."

He turned and answered while his allies left out the door.

"It is." Gau said "But only when it meets it's opposite can it be cracked."

"So you found it's opposite?" he questioned

"Yes, one of the Sannin." Gau explained "I dueled with him for a few moments and he used it."

"Kusunagi." The man breathed

"Yes." Gau nodded "The snake blade, Kusunagi. Orochimaru, the Great Snake, wields it."

"As young as those three are," He said "They are truly a formidable force."

"Yes." Gau said "They are merely eighteen year olds and yet they are already heralded as the best squad to have ever been assembled."

The cloaked man tensed his fingers again, showing his concentration. And he gave another mysterious order.

"I want you to watch the sannin very closely for me." He said "I want one of them to join our little group."

"You want one of them to join us?" Gau said "Which one?"

"They are all gifted," He answered "but one of them stands out from the rest."

"Do you mean Orochimaru?" Gau asked.

The cloaked man yawned loudly.

"I grow weary." He said "No, I will not tell you yet who I have in mind. In my own time will I make the offer to him."

"But it will be far easier if we knew who it is!" Gau pushed

"No, take a close look at all of them and tell me what you think." He replied "I once met and fought against their teacher."

"You mean Sarutobi?" Gau gaped "They say he will become the next Hokage!'

"And rightfully so. I am one of the very few people who can say that they fought a real fight against that man and lived" He sighed "But when I spoke to him after our battle, he seemed to pity me. I do not know why. But as he was helping me reach minimal health to survive, he spoke of his students. Though they were young then, he spoke of one who could become greater than even him."

"And that's the one you want?" Gau asked

"Maybe." He replied "This one will be very crucial to our plans."

"How so?" Gau asked.

"If all goes well, it will be he who defeats Chaos." The cloaked man laughed "And when we have control of all the armies in this village and with Chaos bending to our every will no one, not even Sarutobi and the three legendary shinobi, will ever be able to stop us!"


	4. Chapter 3: Investigation

The three sannin had quickly found their way into the closest town that they could find. Tsunade still carried Beltrano on her shoulders.

It was big and many streets filled with people. Both adults and children were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It looked like they were arriving right in the middle of a festival. The houses were made of clay and most looked like the homes back in Konoha: flat roofed and two stories.

Every people were smiling and laughing as if they did not have a care in the world. Booths could be found in front of homes. All of them selling foods and certain objects for whatever the occasion was. Decorations were placed all over. Festive lanterns and signs were hung over homes and booths.

"Wow, now these people know how to party!" Jiraiya laughed "I love this place!"

He began checking various shops while his comrades looked at embarrassingly.

"He looks like a kid during the annual festival back at home." Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"He's still a kid at heart." Orochimaru shrugged

They continued to walk through the streets and Jiraiya was already enjoying himself. He was already spending his kyo to buy food.

As soon as he bought three grilled squids on a stick, he ran back to his comrades.

"Hey guys!" He laughed heartedly "Look what I got!"

"Be careful!" Tsunade sighed "You run around like that with those sticks and your going to get your eyes pierced!"

"Maybe that's not a bad idea." Orochimaru replied.

"Hey!" Jiraiya feigned being insulted "I got two of these for you two, the two best squad mates anyone could ask for!"

"Ummm….thanks?" Tsunade said, taking it from him.

"Yeah," Orochimaru said, taking one as well "whatever."

All three began to walk the streets again.

"So now that we're here." Tsunade said "What do we do now?"

"Maybe we should find the authorities," Orochimaru suggested "that way we can leave Beltrano and tell them what happened to our client."

"I agree." Jiraiya said "But where can we find them?"

"I think that might be a place to look at." Tsunade said pointing forward.

In front of them a gigantic building loomed. It looked to be made of marble and green pearl. It shined brightly against the sun.

"How did I miss that?" Jiraiya gaped in awe

"You often miss a lot of things." Orochimaru chided "Anyway should we just head in there the way we look now?"

"What do you mean how we look now?" Jiraiya asked "I think we look just fine!"

"To our eyes maybe." Orochimaru said "But look around us, and you'll see we're not wearing normal garb for this place."

Jiraiya looked around and found that Orochimaru was right.

Everyone was dressed in brown shirts that were tucked in to lighter brown pants. And every single one of them hand a word painted on their back. Some were similar but not all of them were definitely the same.

"You're right, we kind of stick out don't we?" Jiraiya agreed "But we do not really have much time to go shopping do we?"

"No," Orochimaru said "but we can't just walk in there, we may cause a commotion."

In one swift motion, Tsunade dropped Beltrano's body to the floor.

"Then only one of us is needed." She said "I'll go."

"Why you?" Jiraiya asked

"Because if they see Orochimaru, they may freak. And I'm worried that you might harass a girl in there and get us kicked out before we get anywhere." She said heading toward the building "Besides I'm pretty, and I'm and innocent little eighteen year old."

She stuck her tongue out and turned to her objective.

"She does make sense." Jiraiya sighed

"Yeah." Orochimaru said

They both looked away from the building and gazed at the festivities in front of them.

Suddenly Jiraiya's face had a mood swing.

"What do you make of it?" he asked

"Make of what?" Orochimaru asked

"This entire thing." Jiraiya said "Mitsuba being captured and all. Something is definitely happening."

Orochimaru nodded slowly.

"I agree." He replied "There is something deeper going on here and we need to find out as soon as possible."

"You know, what I think?" Jiraiya said "Something was fishy on how Mitsuba was captured."

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru asked

"Tsunade does not usually allow herself to lose clients like that." Jiraiya concluded "I need to ask her what happened."

Their comrade's voice called out to them.

"Hey, guys!" she called

Both of them turned around. Tsunade, who was halfway inside the building, was calling to them.

"It's ok! This is where they have their leaders!" Tsunade assured "Come on and bring Beltrano in!"

Quickly, Jiraiya picked up Beltrano and followed Orochimaru into the building. The inside of the building reminded him of the mission room at Konoha. Everywhere people were moving, giving and receiving papers.

What were on those papers, they did not know.

"Follow me up the stairs!" Tsunade said.

They climbed the stairs as quickly as they could. As hard as they tried, they knew they were getting stares from the people in the building.

Especially Jiraiya with Beltrano on his back.

"Are we anywhere near where we have to go?" Jiraiya mumbled

"Yeah," Tsunade said "we're almost there. Just hold on a bit longer."

They crossed a few more simple halls which were colored a light gray and got more stares on the way. There windows all over the place that kept the place illuminated. They all walked fast and Jiraiya merely gave one of his smiles to anyone who gave him a weird look"There it is!" Tsunade finally said, pointing to a door "and there's the man I was talking to!"

A lone man stood next to a door that held a plaque that read "Supreme Counsel". He turned the moment he heard Tsunade's voice.

"Ah there you are." He said

"I told you I went to get my comrades." Tsunade said pointing to the two people behind her.

"So you did." He reached out his right hand, his voice deep "My name is Awren. Pleasure meeting the both of you."

Both of them gave him a firm handshake.

He had a strong grip. His features looked old and chiseled and yet he did not look older than thirty. He wore a red tunic that was tied on by a silver leather belt. His pants were also leather and he wore tall boots.

"May I ask why you have an unconscious body on your shoulders?" Awren asked.

"Long story." Jiraiya replied.

"Well, as much as I would like to know," he said "Tsunade here told me that you three needed to talk to the village supreme counsel."

"Yes we do." Jiraiya nodded.

"Why?" Awren asked

"Ummm…." Jiraiya was at a lost for words.

"We need to tell them about a kidnapping of one of your ambassadors." Orochimaru cut in.

"Ambassadors?" Awren looked genuinely confused "Ambassadors for what?"

"Didn't you guys send an ambassador to the village hidden in the leaves?" Orochimaru pressed

Awren shook his head.

"We have not sent any ambassadors in years." Awren said bluntly.

"But that's impossible," Orochimaru thought out loud "Gau and his group kidnapped her."

Instantly Awren's attention was directly at Orochimaru.

"Who did you say?" He asked

"Gau." Jiraiya repeated "You've heard of him?"

"This is interesting." Awren rubbed his chin "Come with me."

He opened the door and entered. He beckoned for the sannin to do the same. Upon entering they found themselves in a tidy room. It did not have any windows but a crystal ball of light kept the room filled with light.

There were a few wooden chairs placed around the room. They stood on a beautiful red rug.

In front of them was a long wooden desk.

And sitting behind them were four people already giving the three sannin odd looks.

Awren stepped forward and began speaking to the oldest looking one. They whispered a few things between each other.Finally Awren nodded and turned to face the sannin.

"The counsel say they will speak to you." He said "They only ask that you give me that body for closer examination. It looks like one of the bodies of one of our villagers whom we thought was dead."

Jiraiya gladly gave Awren his burden.

Quickly Awren left the room to study Beltrano and left the village counsel with the sannin.

The four looked quietly and a bit eagerly at the sannin.

The one the far left was the biggest of the four, he looked about seven feet tall and had slightly dark skin. He looked to be the youngest and the most muscular. He had a round face that did not have any fat. His hair was blue and reached down to the middle part of his neck. He wore a dark orange long sleeved shirt that seemed to be deliberately fitting to show off his muscular body.

The one beside him was smaller and was a woman who had the same complexion as Tsunade. Her features suggested aging and her hair was black that reached past her shoulders, except for her bangs that covered one of her eyes: it was already graying. Similar to the person next to her, she wore a long sleeved shirt except hers was of a light blue.

The one on the far right looked far different from the rest. Her hair was long and blonde, reaching past her shoulders and down her arms to a point where the sannin could not see its end, and her eyes a soft blue. Her skin was a fairer complexion than even Tsunade. The bright green she wore only made her look even better.

She looked angelic.

The Awren had spoken to was next to her and seemed to be the oldest of the group. He was bald and had a pointy white beard. His white skinned face and hands were old and wrinkled. Unlike his other group members he wore an elegant white robe, with intricate designs in the middle. On his chest there were four circles placed in a diamond all interconnected by lines. The color of the circles were white, green, purple, and orange.

The oldest looking one began to talk.

"We are the supreme counsel of the Village Hidden in the Sky, and we understand you three are from the village hidden by leaves." He said "We look over the village and make choices for its welfare."

"You mean, like our Hokage?" Jiraiya asked

"We do not believe in a Hokage," the biggest one boomed "power corrupts even the greatest of leaders."

The oldest one raised his hand and the biggest one was silenced.

"What he means to say is we, we being the people of the entire region known as Circa or you may know it as the Village Hidden in the Sky, believe that it would be best to distribute leadership between four different people," he explained "Seeing that there are three different races living here."

All three sannin gave a surprised look.

""Oh, that's right! You're not from these parts are you?" He laughed "Well there are three different races: Humans, Struen, and Seraphim."

He extended his right hand to his members.

"The one on the far left is the representative of the Struen, his name is Krayn." He explained, as Krayn gave them a nod "And the one next to him here is named Nel, she's human."

Then he pointed to the one to his left.

"And this is Sarai," he said "She's a seraphim."

Both females gave them a smile.

Tsunade laughed quietly to herself when she realized where Jiraiya would be after this meeting.

"And I am Tamar." He said "I am also human."

"Wait," Orochimaru broke in "there two human representatives?"

"Yes," Tamar answered "because there are twice as many humans here than there are seraphim or struen here combined."

Nel suddenly broke in.

"Enough small talk." She said "Awren said you needed to speak with us about an ambassador."

"Yes," Jiraiya spoke up "We were given a mission to escort an ambassador here, but we were ambushed and a man named Gau and his team kidnapped her."

All four seemed to go in deep thought on his last statement.

"Gau." Krayn growled "So that fool finally decided to show his face again? After all these years."

"Yeah, my friend here fought with him." Jiraiya explained "Both their swords were cracked a bit."

"That's not possible then." Nel accused "Gau holds Aereoga, an unbreakable blade."

"It is unbreakable, against mostly all swords except one." Orochimaru challenged "And that's my blade, Kusunagi."

Nel was about to question he more when the seraphim cut in.

"But before we talk about that," Sarai cut in, her voice soft and yet demanding "who was this ambassador you had to escort here?"

"She said her name was Mitsuba." Jiraiya answered.

Now this caused a little commotion between the counsel.

"Why would she be kidnapped?" Nel said

"What would they gain by making allies with Konohagakure?" Tamar agreed

"You all seem surprised at this," Tsunade cut in "why is it so surprising that they kidnapped Mitsuba?"

Krayn looked at them with a confused look still on his face.

"They would not need to kidnap her," he said "Because-"

"She's the fourth member of the Crimson Blades." Orochimaru finished.

Krayn nodded solemnly.

"We need to look further into this." Tamar concluded "But for now, please stay and enjoy yourselves!"

He gave them a smile that reminded them of their sensei.

"There is a festival going on right now!" he smiled "It has been a long while since we had visitors!"  
Jiraiya looked at him with a serious face.

"As much as we would like to enjoy ourselves," Jiraiya said "we would rather help with whatever is happening."

"We can take care of ourselves," Krayn laughed "but it's not like your powerful shinobi!"

Jiraiya laughed and both Tsunade and Orochimaru.

"Did I say something humorous?" Krayn asked

"We are powerful shinobi!" Jiraiya boasted "Hane you not heard of the three Legendary Sannin?"

Now it was the counsel's turn to be surprised.

"Wait," Nel said "you three are the legendary sannin?"

"You bet," Jiraiya nodded "I am the toad sage, Jiraiya. This lovely lady is the queen of slugs and elixirs. And of course our own snake, Orochimaru!"

The door behind them opened and Awren entered.

"You were right, Lord Tamar." Awren said "We have found Beltrano's family and they are already heading here to pick him up."

"Thank you, Awren." Tamar said "Awren did you know that you brought the three sannin here?"

"What? Where?" Awren asked surprised, then he saw the three smiling teenagers looking at him "You don't mean these three!"

"They are." Sarai nodded "I suspected it, but said nothing. I can feel their immense chakra."

"So you are the legendary three!" he laughed "I cannot believe I did not see that."

Nel rose her hand and all attention returned to her.

"Right now we do not have time to play around." She said "The counsel needs to further investigate these happenings. Awren would you show our new visitors around our town of Tora and let them enjoy the festival?"

"But I thought we were going to help?" Jiraiya pleaded.

"Do not worry." Tamar assured "You will be called on when we need you."

Finally Jiraiya conceded defeat.

All three sannin and Awren gave a respectful bow and exited.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Out in the festival, the four were walking and taking in the sights.

"Yeah this is the time of the year that we enjoy ourselves with almost no one doing any work." Awren answered.

Though they looked content and happy, the three sannin had so much to ask him. About what was really going on, what the Crimson blades were, and what the village was about.

And one question that had entered their minds since they reached the village was how they kept the land up in the clouds.

But they knew that most of these questions were village secrets.

Yet they somehow had to find their own information, and they all knew how. Two of them had to do their own investigation while one kept their guide busy.

But how?

"You know," Jiraiya laughed "I think I want to walk around. Do a little research."

"Research?" Awren asked "What kind of research? I don't think I can let go on your own."

"Oh trust me." Tsunade assured "You do not want to be there when he does his "research", it's the perverted kind."

"Oh all right." Awren ceded "Just stay out of trouble! I get the heat if you cause any trouble!"

"Don't worry!" Jiraiya laughed it off, as he walked away.

Moments later Orochimaru took his chance.

"I need a drink." He said "Where can I get one?"

"Uh, in about a few blocks." Awren said

"I'll go on my own then." Orochimaru said as he walked away.

"Wait!" Awren called.

But Orochimaru was already a few feet ahead of them.

"Don't worry," Tsunade smiled, gently holding his arm "I'll stay with you."

"Oh," he sighed "ok."

They began walking and talking.

"So what's this festival for?" Tsunade asked

"It's a celebration;" he said "today is the day the pilgrimage starts."

"Pilgrimage?" Tsunade asked "What pilgrimage?"

"Ummm, well…." Awren mumbled.

"You can't tell me that huh?" Tsunade smiled.

"No," he said "sorry."

"It's ok," Tsunade smiled gazing at the streets in front of her "I'm fine with that."

She was only fine with it because she knew her partners would find out for her.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Orochimaru found his way into a drinking establishment. Since it was the festival, it was filled with people enjoying themselves and drinking to an excess.

Orochimaru walked in quietly and sat in one of the darkest corners. He sat on his own and thought of his next move.

He knew that something was happening and it had something to do with the Crimson Blades.

If the counsel did not send Mitsuba and she was a part of the Crimson Blades then that would mean they only had one goal.

To get the sannin there.

But for what purpose were the sannin needed?

He did not have any information to guess but he knew it had to do something about their strengths. Soon they were to be used for something.

A man suddenly cut through his thoughts.

"May I sit here?" he asked.

"I don't mind." Orochimaru shrugged.

He sat in front of Orochimaru and blocked Orochimaru's view of the rest of the bar.

He wore a black cloak. His face was heavily bandaged; the only facial feature that could be seen was his right blue eye. His hair was brownish yellow and completely unkempt.

"Are you interested in a job?" he asked quickly "It pays a lot."

"Why choose me?" Orochimaru said smoothly

"I saw you come in," he said "I knew instantly you would be perfect for this job."

He eased his head closer so he could whisper only to Orochimaru.

"I need an assassin to kill a certain someone," he said, but quickly he said "oh don't worry she was going to die anyway."

"For who?" Orochimaru asked

"The Crimson Blades." He whispered even softer "The one whom you have to kill is the sacrifice of the pilgrimage."

Orochimaru laughed in his mind. This was too easy.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((**

Jiraiya was having a great time at the festival, but he was also doing his own investigation.

So far all he had gotten was that the festival was for the first day of the pilgrimage. What the pilgrimage was, he did not know.

Still he continued to search around.

Using a lot of his kyo, he bought more food and drinks for random girls who seemed to take a liking to him.

"So you're Jiraiya?" one of the girls laughed as they ate.

"You bet I am!" he gave a manly laugh "The toad sage in the flesh!"

The table he was sitting in had three other attractive girls and all of them were attracted to him, or rather the money he was using to buy food.

One of them had decided to go use the bathroom.

"But seriously girls," he said, still smiling "is there any way you can tell me what this Pilgrimage is for?"

The girls shook their heads innocently at him.  
"I'm sorry!" one of them squealed "We cannot tell that to outsiders!"

"But I'm pretty much a part of you anyway!" he laughed "Look I'm already partying with you!"  
"Nope!" the other laughed "We can't!"

Then elegantly the third returned from her bathroom break. But before she sat down, she whispered something in Jiraiya's ear.

"I know someone who can tell you about the pilgrimage." She whispered quickly "After we eat, he said to meet him in the alleyway next to this restaurant."

He smiled as the girl returned to her seat, returning to her earlier giddy form.

"Let me buy you girls more." He smiled

He was finally headed somewhere.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((**

After they ate, all three of the girls went their own separate ways. Jiraiya stayed for a few moments to pay the bill and headed outside.

Quickly he found the alleyway she was talking about and went inside.

It was completely dark. There was a roof over the alley and only some light came from the opening. Yet Jiraiya instantly knew that someone was waiting for him.

"So I hear you wanted to know about the pilgrimage?" a man's voice came from the darkness.

"Yes I do." Jiraiya said "How did you find out?"

"You were pretty loud in that restaurant." The voice replied "May I ask who you are?"

"May I ask who you are?" Jiraiya countered.

"I am a message," he replied "nothing more."

Jiraiya did not answer for a moment.

"My name is Jiraiya," he said "I am from the village hidden in the leaves. I wish to know what this pilgrimage is all about. And who or what the Crimson Blades really are."

"The Crimson Blades?" the voice sounded shocked "But they have been destroyed for years now. Are they still alive?"

"You tell me." Jiraiya answered "But either way I would like to know about them."

"Well," the voice continued "I will tell you of the pilgrimage first."

"All right." Jiraiya agreed.

Throughout this whole time, Jiraiya was sensing around to see if he was going to be attacked, but he did not feel anything.

"The pilgrimage occurs every five years." the voice explained "It is a pilgrimage of one sacrifice and her guardians. The entire point of this pilgrimage is make the sacrifice pure and powerful enough to destroy the supreme being that brings terror to our village. Every sacrifice will calm it for four years. And during the fifth, it attacks again."

"Supreme being?" Jiraiya asked "Who or what is the supreme being?"

"It is the creature of vengeance. They dare only whisper its name." The voice whispered in fear "Chaos."


	5. Chapter 4: Chaos

_**CHAPTER 4: CHAOS**_

"_To know that something is wrong and having the ability to fix it but choosing to ignore is nothing but cowardice." Jiraiya stated._

"Chaos?" Jiraiya breathed "What's that?"

"Honestly we do not know," the voice replied "We're not even sure if it's a who or a what. Some people believe that it was a creature from the past that awoke and sent it's fury on us. Others believe it was born by a summoning jutsu gone wrong and is drawing energy from malice intentions. There are many stories behind it but in any case, it is a being that attacks our village every four years. This has been going on for generations now."

"How powerful is it?" Jiraiya asked

"It has the power to destroy all of the provinces of the village hidden in the sky in no more than a few days." It replied

"Well then, if it's that powerful why hasn't it destroyed this village or even the rest of the world yet?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"Well, our ancestors had to fight a great battle against it about a hundred years ago and used the combined strength of all the warriors from each province but they still lost." The voice explained "But somehow one of our greatest fighters was able to commune with Chaos and somehow they were able to probably make a deal with chaos."

"What kind of deal?" Jiraiya asked

"A deal where a sacrifice is given to it and it will leave us alone for a set amount of time." The voice continued "And so we gave it a sacrifice and it did leave us alone for some time."

"But it came back didn't it?" Jiraiya asked

"Yes," The voice said "and so it became a cycle. Chaos will come and attack us after a four year reprieve. It always brought about death and destruction wherever it went. Though it did not completely destroy the entire village hidden in the sky, but it has reduced our numbers to only five provinces."

"And the only way to stop it from completely destroying you is to give it a sacrifice?" Jiraiya asked.

"Exactly," the voice agreed "but it is not as simple as that."

"There's more?" Jiraiya sighed in disbelief

"Yes." The voice confirmed "The sacrifice has to be purified."

"How is a sacrifice purified?" Jiraiya asked

"Whoever the sacrifice is has to go through a purifying process known as a pilgrimage." The voice replied

Jiraiya began to listen and concentrate intently.

"This pilgrimage will take the sacrifice, along with her guardians, to five different cities that contain temples that are considered to be the purifying devices. Each temple will help "purify" the sacrifice in five different aspects."

"So this pilgrimage," Jiraiya asked "it is a necessity for your village?"

"Yes, but that's all I can tell you for now," the voice said "there will be others that will tell you the rest."

"Wait!" Jiraiya shouted "Who's going to tell me the rest?"

"You will soon find out." It said "But a word of caution for you. One of your comrades will soon be attacked."

"Attacked? Who?" Jiraiya pestered "By who?"

"The underground," it replied softly "and it will be in the bar a few shops away from this alley."

"How do you know about this?" Jiraiya asked

**CRASH!!**

Jiraiya turned in response to the sound.

A body had been flung out from a building and landed into one of the stalls near Jiraiya. It was so near to him that he could see the body clearly and the injury he was trying to hide on his arm.

It was a snake bite.

"Orochimaru." Jiraiya concluded.

He switched his attention back toward the voice.

"Hey!" Jiraiya shouted into the darkness.

No one answered him.

Quickly Jiraiya turned around and ran toward the bar. Out of the corner of his eye his saw an abnormal shadow that looked like a person's silhouette above, but when he turned to look up the roof was completely bare.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Bodies were flying in every direction in the bar.

A single body could be found laughing with a hiss as he used only his arms and the snakes that came from them to send his attackers away.

As Orochimaru was being offered his assassination job, a group of big loud men had entered the bar. Most of them were making a big fuss about having too many people with them. So the bartender told the rest of the people to leave so that there was not any trouble. Only Orochimaru and his informer stayed where they sat.

A few moments of peaceful silence followed.

And in one blur, Orochimaru grabbed and pushed his informer under the table while the first of his assailants came charging at him.

They were merely hired hands that needed money and instantly they knew they could not win against their prey. Yet they persisted to attack and Orochimaru threw them off and used his snakes to bite and constrict them.

The informant was still staring in awe at his power, when another weird looking character entered the room.

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted "What are you doing? We're here to help not to destroy them!"

Orochimaru jumped high into the air and hung there with his feet planted on the ceiling.

""These fools do not know who they are up against." Orochimaru hissed "They deserve to die!"

"Enough, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya said "I need to talk to you."

"And since when did I ever take a scolding from you?" Orochimaru challenged.

"I'm not going to lecture you!" Jiraiya shook his head "I know where we need to go!"

Suddenly Orochimaru fell from the ceiling and landed softly. Slowly he reached under a table and grabbed the informant out.

"Uhhhh..." The informant groaned "Maybe I should go?"

Orochimaru gave an evil smile.

"You're coming with us." Orochimaru commanded

He half dragged the man by his collar.

"Who's this?" Jiraiya asked as Orochimaru passed him.

They both walked out into the street. Orochimaru then let him go and he squirmed to getting to get up.

"All right," Orochimaru said "Talk!"

The informer was too choked up to talk. Suddenly he turned around and ran into the growing crowd.

Neither sannin made a move to follow him.

"See this is why I do the questioning!" Jiraiya joked

"He was a coward." Orochimaru answered "Next time I interrogate someone, I'll make sure it's a girl so you won't mind interrogating her!"

"Yeah, whatever." Jiraiya grinned.

The two began moving along with crowd.

"We need to talk to Awren, don't we?" Jiraiya asked

"Yeah," Orochimaru agreed "So you interrogate him this time?"

Jiraiya merely nodded looking in front of him, obviously deep in thought.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The two sannin found their female partner and their guide in a fancy restaurant. Unlike the one that Jiraiya had been earlier, this restaurant was closed roofed and there were waiters for each table. Wooden tables were spread throughout the room and light was given from the sunlight through open windows. It was filled with people and conversations were loud.

It was the perfect place for a make shift interrogation.

They told the cashier that they would be dining with Tsunade and Awren. They were sitting next to each other at a four seating table, leaving two vacant spots in front of them.

Soon they were sitting at their table with them.

"Man, Awren," Jiraiya laughed as he sat down "I've been trying for years to get Tsunade out on a date with me, and you guys talk for not even one day and your getting all chummy!"

"Shut up, Jiraiya." Tsunade grinned "Besides Awren is a lot sweeter than you! He can actually keep his attention on one girl at a time!"

Awren blushed slightly next to Tsunade.

"So did you guys get your fill of the festival?" Awren asked pleasantly

"You bet!" Jiraiya laughed "You know the people here sure are friendly!"

A waiter walked to their table and placed two big plates of food in front of them. Both plates were filled with salads with cheese and cut meat. Four cups and a jug of lemon lime flavored water was placed for all of them.

"You must be very hungry to have ordered this much food." Orochimaru observed.

"We bought extra just in case you guys came along." Tsunade explained "And here you both are."

For one second, Orochimaru and Tsunade's met. In that one instant, information was passed between the two comrades.

Now was the time to get some answers.

"So what did you mean about the people here being friendly?" Tsunade asked

"Oh yeah!" Jiraiya smiled "Just a few minutes ago, Orochimaru here was having a chat with a few men in the bar only a few streets away."

All four began stabbing at the salad with their forks. They enjoyed it as they continued to talk.

"A chat?" Tsunade exclaimed, acting surprised "Since when was Orochimaru social at all?"

"Actually," Jiraiya replied slyly "he was ambushed."

"Ambushed?" Awren gaped "Why? Are you okay?"

"I am one of the three legendary sannin, your worry is flattering but unnecessary." Orochimaru laughed softly "I do not know why they attacked me, but right before they attacked I was being offered a job."

"A job?" Awren asked.

Slowly Orochimaru stabbed a few pieces of lettuce and chewed it in mouth. After swallowing he answered.

"Yeah," Orochimaru nodded "I was being offered to assassinate someone known as the sacrifice."

Awren surprise was written all over his face.

"And they said I would be doing it for a group known as the Crimson Blades." Orochimaru continued.

"The Crimson Blades?!" Awren's mouth hung open, but still his voice was limited to a whisper.

"You seem surprised?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, yeah." Awren said rubbing his head "They should be dead, and you..."

His voice trailed off as he realized that he was saying too much.

"What do you mean you?" Orochimaru asked

"Nothing," He said shaking his head and seemed to take an increased liking in the salad "we should eat up!"

Jiraiya looked him straight in the eye.

"Look, I met a strange informant today." Jiraiya said "And he told me everything."

Awren's eyebrows shot up.

"Everything?" Awren tried to keep the guilt out of his voice "Everything about what?"

"Well, almost everything about," Jiraiya lowered his voice even more "the pilgrimage."

"How did you find out about that?" Awren asked "No outsiders should know!"

"Well, for whatever reason some of your people think it is necessary for me to know," Jiraiya replied "so how about telling me the rest."

Even though the restaurant was filled with merry people, the four could only hear the silence among them. For a few seconds the silence was supreme.

Slowly Awren raised the cup to his lips. To the sannin's amazement they could hear his voice.

"So what do you know?" Awren asked barely audible.

Taking the hint, the three sannin followed suit. Tsunade and Orochimaru looked down as if interested at their food allowing their hair to cover their faces. Jiraiya merely placed his hand over his mouth but turning his eyes to an attractive woman next to their table.

"Well," Jiraiya said "I know how Chaos plagues this village of yours for generations now, and how this so called sacrifice is the only way to calm this chaos for a few years until it returns again."

Awren did not stop drinking.

"You know the majority of it," Awren concluded "All that's really left is to tell you of the actual pilgrimage itself, but you would not need to know about it."

"And why not?" Jiraiya asked

Awren placed the cup down with a smile on his face, feigning merriment.

"That's some good water!" he laughed gaily "Pour me some more, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru nodded and poured some more into Awren's cup. Awren placed the cup back to his lips but this time it looked like his was taking slower gulps of the liquid.

"You were hired to escort Mitsuba here, even if she was a fake," Awren explained "Isn't there a rule against continuing a mission when the goal has been reached or considered a failure?"

"Rules were made to be broken," Tsunade smiled rebelliously "we're the sannin we can do that."

Awren placed the cup down in confusion.

"To know that something is wrong and having the ability to fix it but choosing to ignore is nothing but cowardice." Jiraiya stated.

"Oh stop being to self-righteous!" Tsunade blurted "Let Awren continue."

"Well my student liked it!" Jiraiya defended "But she's right, go ahead"

Before Awren could bring the cup to his mouth to talk again, Tsunade stood up and pushed her chair in.

"Please excuse me," She smiled sweetly "I need to go use the restroom. Don't busy yourself getting up, I'll find it myself."

She had a smile as she walked away.

Awren merely shrugged and brought his cup back to his lips once more.

"So you three really intend to help?" Awren asked "You know it would be going against the council and many statutes of our own

Jiraiya looked at his remaining partner and the okay from him. He knew Tsunade would not mind either.

"Yeah we're in," Jiraiya answered "we don't really care much if we get in trouble, but I'm wondering why you would stick your neck out like this. I mean, if things go well your village will survive anyway."

"I have my reasons." Awren said "But we need to postpone this until tomorrow morning. Find the academy and meet me there."

"Why?" Jiraiya asked

"If we are to make a difference in the pilgrimage is meet the sacrifice and persuade her to allow us to join her without the council or anyone finding out."

"No I mean why can't we finish talking now?" Jiraiya asked

"Because he believes that we are being watched by one of the council's spies." Orochimaru broke in "Little does he know that Tsunade has already taken care of our unexpected guest."

Between gulps, Awren's eyebrows rose. He realized that they were telling the truth when he saw Tsunade walking back to their table.

Awren began to start calming down and hoped that maybe he could talk more calmly. But to his and his tablemates dismay a group of six males began to approach Tsunade, they were all helpless but they were also all completely drunk.

"Hey there, pretty face!" one of them waved "You wanna go out with me tonight?"

The others had stepped in front of Tsunade meaning no harm but inadvertently prevented Tsunade from returning to their table.

"Hey buddy, watch out you know she's one the sannin, right?" Another one could barely say.

"Oh yeah that's her!" A third blurted "Your name is Jiraiya, right?"

Tsunade tried to push aside the people in front of her without using too much strength but they were persistent.

"Hey, what's the hurry darling?" The first one said "We have all night!"

When it seemed like it could not get any worse, another group of people got involved. Loud women began to make evocative comments.

"Hey that is Tsunade!" one of them said loudly "Where's the other sannin?"

One young lady got up and pointed at the shock of spiky white hair and the long purple hair of the people who sat near them.

"There they are!" she shouted

The restaurant went into an uproar. To have all three sannin in their midst was like having a celebrities eating with them. The guests were excited just to see them and even the restaurant management wanted to get an autograph from the legendary fighters.

"Darn it," Jiraiya said waving at the crowd and smiling "sometimes I really hate all the publicity we get."

He shook hands and kissed some women on the cheek to leave his fans content. Tsunade conceded and even Orochimaru reacted to some of the people who were obsessed with just touching him.

Jiraiya turned back to talk to Awren, but he was already gone. Out of the corner of his eye, Jiraiya saw Awren walk out of the restaurant. He knew that they would see him the next day.

But that had to wait since they could do nothing more until they met this sacrifice. For now he thought that they deserved the perks of being called a sannin.

He picked up a cup juice water and everyone else in the restaurant followed suit but were all in their own conversations.

" Hey Orochimaru, tonight we party!" Jiraiya laughed as he drank enthusiastically "And tomorrow we head back to school!"


	6. Chapter 5: Parting of Ways

_**CHAPTER 5: PARTING OF WAYS**_

"_I"ll see you later." Fayt said "Good-bye means forever, so we don't know that yet. Just see you later."_

"_We were strangers starting out on a journey_

_Never dreaming what we'd have to go through"_

Fayt reached out and clicked his alarm clock off.

"Uhhhh," he groaned as he sat up in the darkness.

He stretched outward with his arms and yawned loudly. He sat there for a few minutes with his eyes closed.

His alarm clock was his closest friend singing one of his favorite songs. It helped him to sleep and woke him every morning.

Suddenly his eyes snap open.

"Kairi's leaving today!" he gasped "This is something I do not want to be late for."

Fayt had been forced to live alone for a few years now. His mother was a sacrifice and his father was one of her guardians. They never returned, but the calm that followed explained their disappearance.

He threw his blankets off his body and turned the lamp next to his bed. His room was very simple with his bed, a small desk with one lampshade on it, and a cabinet filled with his clothes. His school backpack was already for school and was placed right in front of the desk.

His body was an average athletic size and his hair was matted down though at times he liked putting it in a spiked fashion.

He slept only in his shorts and he began to rummage through his closest looking for what he should wear that day. Normally he would not mind what he wore as long as it was decent and even then he looked as fashionable as other students but today he felt like he wanted to give some thought into what he wore. He found his clothes and got ready to shower.

He had met Kairi a few years back when they first started middle school and put into separate squads. He met her through his two other squad members who were her best friends and the same age as each other. Now they were in their final year of high school. Though Fayt was already at a Jounin level and Kairi was Chunin, they kept in touch in between classes and in missions. Many times their missions were intertwined and they're groups would help each other.

Having an afterthought, Fayt walked over to his lamp desk and reached into one of the drawers and brought out an envelope. He quickly placed it into the front pocket of his backpack.

He quickly ran to shower.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The senior classroom was completely filled, and all were listening intently at the lecture going on in front of them. A bare classroom with thirty desks filled with students, one big desk for the teacher and a lone chalkboard. The only reason they were paying attention was because their teacher promised them that if they listened during her lecture that she would allow them to enjoy the remaining class time talking.

A single person was daydreaming. She was gazing out through the glass window next her. It was slightly open and a small breeze came through it.

It was soft, calming and had the smell of fresh air that she was accustomed to feeling. Gazing outside she could see fields and tress in front of her.

Her hazel colored hair blew slightly in the wind, matched her light brown eyes which were covered by her eyelids as she took in the soft breeze against her face. Her button nose took in the sweet outdoor smells. A quick smile appeared and faded as fast as it appeared. She wore a light green shirt under a light pink sweater. Her martial arts pants were a shade of brown, the same as her sandals. She was skinny and her clothes fit perfectly on her.

Turning away from the window and the wonder it held for her, she began to look at her current set of classmates and possibly her last set. She did not have many close friends, but she did now a lot of the students in her school. She was well known for her top grades in her graduating class, as well as her exemplary abilities in the ninja arts. She was one of the few that could be considered a complete fighter: her expert chakra control enabled her to do advanced ninjutsu and also adept in genjutsu. Even though with these skills alone she could have already been considered one of the best in the school, it was her taijutsu that raised her above the bar. She was able to reduce a giant boulder with one swing of her powerful arms into nothing more than the dust it was sitting on.

With these techniques she could easily have reached the level of Jounin or Anbu but she was not as hardworking as the other shinobi of the same caliber as her. She was also more interested in activities other than training, such as watching movies with her friends and family and reading her favorite manga books.

She was often criticized for this but she did not care. She would merely shrug and continue on with her reading. A lot of people admired her for her capabilities but many wished she would put more effort into making herself into a better warrior. Even when she was a mere child, many people in high places believed her to become the solkage, the sun shadow, leader of the village hidden in the sky.

Believed it, that is, until she turned ten.

It was that year that her life had changed forever. It was on the day of her tenth birthday that she was chosen to become the salvation of the village, the burden of saving those she loved.

It was the day she was chosen as the sacrifice for Chaos.

Even now, seven years after, she did not react much to her destiny even when she was old enough to understand what was supposed to happen to her.

The only tear filled good-bye was with her parents. She was their only child and saying farewell was very difficult. Not many words were spoken but the tears and hugs were imbedded into her memory. Not wanting to leave without a remembrance of her loved ones, she placed in her backpack a picture of her and her parents. They were now at work and could not see their daughter off.

Among her friends, she would be able to easily say bye but there was a few she might shed last tears with. And she took a gaze through her classroom and found the only friends she was close too.

Two of the girls she looked to as though they were her sisters were the ones who she thought of. Lorelelei and Sarai were her two closest friends and knew that she would need to part with them soon.

Sadly they too had a mission after school and had to leave after she did. The only other person she would actually have a hard time saying good-bye too was the third member of their squad.

One of her closest and oldest friends, Fayt Lockhart.

Though she did not want to admit it to him, she told Sarai and Lorelelei that he was the only guy that she considered as a close friend. She did not mind shedding tears in front of her female friends but it seemed a bit embarrassing to cry in front of Fayt.

"Okay students," the teacher smiled "that's all I have to teach on why and how we keep our village afloat over the clouds, and now you are all dismissed early. Do as you wish."

The class got up and migrated toward one person.

Kairi got up and awaited the farewells.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

"Okay bye!" Kairi smiled and waved.

They were now outside of the school and she was waving the last of the people who were giving her farewells. Kairi felt as if she said good-bye to nearly every student in the school. Now only two were left.

Before they even hugged tears were falling off their cheeks.

Lorelelei's long blonde hair reached to her shoulders. Her red lips were in a fake smile that was being wet by her tears. Under her glasses, her light green eyes were dripping with tears. She was the same height as Kairi, about five feet tall and also the same body form but her clothes were a bit loose on her. She wore a simple green shirt that matched with hers eyes with blue pants and sandals.

Sarai was a bit shorter than the other two but she was also a year younger. Her body was a bit more substantial and she wore long dark brown pants and a white shirt under a black sweater. Her hair was pitch black, the same as her sandals. She cried as much as her other friends were.

"So this is bye then?" Kairi smiled weakly "Don't you get in trouble when I'm gone okay, Lorey?"

Lorey merely nodded, trying to keep her tears in.

"And you," she said to Sarai "no one is allowed to punch you but me! Okay?"

"Oh shut up!" Lorey cried

Lorey hugged Kairi and Kairi returned it.

The realizing that they were missing one more person, they opened up their arms for their third member. Sarai came in and hugged as well.

Their hair got intertwined as they held one another and their hair got wet as they continued to cry.

After a few seconds they let go and stood staring at each other again.

"You have to go right" Kairi asked "Don't you guys have a mission?"

"Wait," Lorey said "I don't remember telling you that, did you tell her that Sarai?"

"No," Sarai shook her head "where did you find that out?"

Kairi blushed but merely shrugged.

"You heard it from Fayt!" Lorey laughed pointing a finger at her "You were talking to him again last night weren't you!"

"Uhhh..no…I don't know what you're talking about…" she claimed.

Though she said this, her now blushing face was giving her away.

"You did!" Sarai said "I told you, you need sleep!"

"Shut up," she said lightly hitting Sarai "get going on your mission!"

"All right." Sarai said, rubbing the arm she hit "You're right we have to go."

She grabbed Lorelelei and started to pull her away. Lorelelei was reluctant to say her final good-bye to her best friend.

"You come back, okay!" Lorey asked, knowing that this was an impossible.

Kairi merely nodded, not making the promise she knew she could not keep.

"Hey, umm," She shrugged "Can you do me one last thing?"

"Yeah?" Sarai asked

"When you see Fayt," Kairi sighed "tell him I said, bye."

They both nodded with no humor involved. Slowly they walked away and waved good bye one last time.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Well, maybe it was best that we did not say bye." Kairi thought to herself.

She started walking toward the front of the school where her guardians and entourage. Swinging her backpack on her back, she walked toward the exit.

"_Kairi!_"

She did not know why, but the instant she heard the voice she turned around…and she was smiling.

He landed in front of her.

On his head was a headband with the symbol of their village, a lightning bolt, over his black hair. He wore a dark blue long sleeved shirt with a light blue vest over it. His pants were the same hue as his vest while his sandals were also brown. His two blades, the twin wolves, were strapped on his back in the shape of an x.

He looked a bit sweaty, showing how much in a hurry he was.

"You look all dressed up there." Kairi pointed out.

"Yeah," Fayt smiled "I have a mission today remember?"

"Oh yeah," Kairi said "Lorelelei and Sarai were already getting to your sensei."

"Yeah." Fayt nodded.

A few seconds of silence.

"Shouldn't you go to your mission?" Kairi asked

"Yeah, well, yeah, but" Fayt stuttered "I just wanted to…"  
"Yeah?" Kairi asked

"I just wanted to…" He tried

Then he started rummaging through his backpack for something unknown. To no avail he could not find it.

"Oh crud, I must have forgotten it." Fayt sighed "Well, then I guess all that's left is to say bye, huh?"

Kairi nodded.

"Well then," Fayt took a deep breath "good-bye then."

"Bye." She replied.

She did not want to show it but her tears were near to falling. She did not want to embarrass herself and needed to leave.

"I guess bye then." Kairi said again.

"Bye." Fayt nodded

Kairi turned around and started walking away. Her feet felt like lead as she walked away.

She sniffed her nose trying to hold back her tears.

Then she stopped.

Slowly turning around, she found Fayt still standing there as if waiting for her.

"Oh why not." She thought.

She walked back quickly and hugged him tightly.

He returned it and held her tight.

"Take care, okay?" Fayt said

Kairi couldn't answer, but merely nodded. She let her face lay on his shoulder.

"I"ll see you later." Fayt said "Good-bye means forever, so we don't know that yet. Just see you later."

"Yeah," Kairi said slowly pulling away "see you later."

She covered her eyes and face and turned around. She rubbed her face trying to hide her tears. Walking past the school gate, she did not look back.

"I knew she wouldn't cry." Fayt said

He turned around to get to his squad, but saw something beneath him. He got on one knee and felt it.

Then he reached for his right shoulder.

His shoulder, and the dirt, was wet.

He smiled and jumped toward his new mission.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Kairi walked out into the front of the school and began treading on the main dirt road. She walked a few steps when she recognized Awren.

She nearly jumped when she realized who was with him.

"The three sannin?" she gasped "But how? Where did they come from?"

She quickened her pace but still she tried to keep her distance for a while to try and think of how or why such powerful sannin were here.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized what they were doing there: they were there to help her.

"Kairi!" Awren waved as she stopped near them "You finally came!"

She nodded softly and looked at the others near Awren.

"You already know who these people are right?" Awren asked "The three sannin!"  
Kairi gave a half hearted laugh. Jiraiya looked as goofy as she pictured him and Orochimaru made a chill run down her spine as she imagined a snake standing in front of her. To her amazement, Tsunade was even more beautiful in person than the pictures or rumors than she had heard.

"So you're the special person we've been hearing about!" Jiraiya laughed

"Yeah...wait how did you find out about that?" Kairi asked looking at Awren "Did you tell them?"

"Well," Awren shrugged "I wasn't the only one who told. Besides I think it would be best that we had their help."

"As my guardians?" Kairi asked "You know that's against the rules for them to know right? And The council will probably provide our own entourage."

"But even so," Awren replied "We can use all the help we can get."

Kairi lowered her shoulders, closed her eyes, and shrugged in defeat.

She felt an arm lay on her right shoulder. Opening her eyes she found herself looking directly at Tsunade.

"What's wrong?" She smiled at Kairi "You don't want us to help you?"

"No, it's not that." Kairi sighed "It's just that umm..well…I don't want to bother any of you."

"Bother us?" Tsunade laughed "How would you be bothering us? Orochimaru and Jiraiya there love an adventure and I have to be here to make sure they're safe! Is that okay with you?"

She nodded softly, obviously not completely okay with the three still helping but knew that they were right.

"Uh no." Awren sighed "It looks like they came here earlier than I thought."

"Who?" Jiraiya asked.

Awren rose and pointed his finger at an incoming group of people in black cloaks with their hoods covering their faces. There was about ten of the blacked people approaching them. Two of the four council members were approaching them.

"What are Tamar and Krayn doing here?" Awren thought out loud "This can't be good."

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru asked

"They do not usually leave their post at the main building unless it is of utmost importance." Awren said "They must have heard."

All three sannin stood at their full height.

"Leave this to us." Jiraiya said confidently "We'll take care of this."

Awren sighed in defeat and waited for the entourage to reach them. Krayn was the first to reach them and he did not look happy at all.

"What are you three doing here?" he demanded "I thought we told you to only enjoy the festival and nothing more."

"You told us to enjoy the festival, yes." Tsunade agreed "But you did not tell us not to do anything else."

She gave him one of her cutest smiles, but even with her beauty he remained unfazed.

"What are you three doing here?" he asked again, obviously becoming more annoyed by the second.

"We're here to help this girl with her little trip." Jiraiya explained "Is there any rule against that?"

"Normally no," Krayn countered "but-"

Tamar rose his hand.

"That is enough Krayn." He said "These are the three sannin and we both know they have already found out about chaos and the sacrifice. And now they want nothing more than to aid our precious Kairi throughout her pilgrimage. Is that not correct?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"I still do not trust them." Krayn grunted "They could mean trouble."

"What's wrong?" Orochimaru taunted "What trouble could we possibly accomplish?"

Krayn did not answer, his mouth now set into a frown.

"I do not think it will be a problem." Awren said "My lords, please allow the three

sannin to accompany me and Kairi through the sacred pilgrimage!"  
Tamar nodded but his mind was definitely still moving.

"We will allow this as long as this ANBU black op squad will accompany you." Tamar replied.

"But we will not need an ANBU squad to help us, they would only get in our way!" Tsunade answered back

Tamar shook his head and sighed.

"Please trust that we have only Kairi's best intentions in mind." Tamar reasoned "You may go along with the pilgrimage as long as this squad accompanies you, is that understood, Awren?"

Awren looked around him to see if the sannin would agree. To no avail, none of the sannin acknowledged him and left him with his own decision.

"Yes sir." Awren agreed "But with all due respect sir, I believe we should start this journey now. Time is of the essence."  
"Yes, of course!" Tamar laughed heartedly "You may commence. Krayn and I will leave now, but the ANBU squad will know how to contact us if our aid is needed."

Tamar bowed and Krayn grunted as he tip his head for only an inch.

"Good-bye then, Kairi." Tamar said "Our lives are in your hands now as well as in the capable hands of your capable guardians."

He turned around and began walking away.

"Yeah, whatever." Krayn said "Just don't fail."

He then followed the senior council and walked away.

One of the ANBU squad stepped up to the sannin.

"Listen here twerp." He said in a gruff voice "My squad is the most elite fighting force in the entire Circa nation. We will protect Kairi with our lives. Just do not get in our way!"

"Well you're no bag of happiness yourself!" Jiraiya fought back "You better make sure you don't get in our way!"

"We will assure you by making sure we are not even in your sights unless trouble arises." He said "We will not waste our time and energy unless needed."

All ten black op soldiers disappeared into the air. Though it looked like they teleported, the trained eye of the sannin could tell that they had taken refuge behind foliage and trees along the path.

"Yeah well we didn't want you either!" Jiraiya called pouting "Stupid stuck up ANBUs. Who needs them?"

This brought grins from the rest of the group, even from Kairi.

"Well there you go!" Jiraiya laughed "We all looked dead a second ago and now we're all ready to go!"

Everyone nodded, looking toward the dirt road that lay before them. They were definitely a different type of group: Three outsiders who stuck out like sore thumbs, a young soldier who's physique and demeanor made him look as if he should stay in school, and finally the youngest of the group who's eyes did not show the great destiny that she was carrying on her shoulders.

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In Circa, a dark room was lit only by a single on a table with two people sitting on either side. Two men who hated each other were staring at one another as they both knew that they needed the other's capabilities.

Krayn sat frowning at the cloaked man in front of him.

"So what is it that you want?" the cloaked man asked.

"Look," Krayn said gruffly "We have a problem with some unexpected guests."

"Do you mean the sannin?" the cloaked man asked

"How did you know about them?" Krayn demanded

"Oh Krayn," The man laughed insidiously "you know well that I have many resources that I can bring up at any moment I wish."

Krayn did not answer for a moment.

"I was once your teacher, remember?" he laughed.

"Yeah," Krayn grunted "well that's the past. We have a problem now and the other council members have sent me to speak with the only person who would have the capabilities to help us."

"Why not do it yourself?" He asked "Is the council not able to use their own resources to meet their own gains?"

"Yes, we would be able to." Krayn said "But we would rather not get caught."

"I'm listening." The cloaked man replied.

"Well," Krayn said "there is one thing the council members and I have been planning, and well it looks as though those nosy sannin will only get in the way. We sent an ANBU black op squadron with them who will do whatever we ask them to do. Problem is that those outsiders seem to have ideas of our own that go against our plans."

The cloaked man reached into his hood and looked as if he was stroking his chin, his mind intently working.

"What would you have me do?" he asked slowly "Do you want me to get rid of her entourage? I thought you wanted her to make it through the pilgrimage and bring back the calm?"

Krayn stayed quiet at the last comment.

"Oh, I seem to have hit on something." The cloaked man laughed softly "Does the council have a plan of it's own?"

Krayn remained motionless.

"You do now need to answer me." Krayn said "I could care less what happens to that girl or to the rest of this blasted village for that matter. So tell me what is it that you want me to do for you."

"We need you to get rid of the sannin." Krayn explained "Do whatever it takes. We don't care if they are dead or alive, just stop them at any costs."

"What about your ANBU squad?" The cloaked man asked.

"You may beat them, but do not kill them." Krayn stressed "We need to keep Kairi's protection there until…"

Krayn's voice trailed off.

"Until what?" The cloaked man asked

"Never mind that." Krayn said "Can you get the job done or do I have to find someone else to do the job?"

"Krayn you know that I can't resist a good challenge." He said "And there is no one else in this village that can help you more than I can."

"What about the Crimson Blades?" Krayn asked "I hear that they are gaining strength."

"Even so," the cloaked man said sarcastically "if the Crimson Blades would have to face you if they ever showed their faces again."

"Shut up." Krayn said "Why are you beating around the bush, what do you want?"

The man shrugged.

"No reason." He sighed "Just wondering what the supposed righteous council has in mind that they cannot tell their own people?"

"That I cannot tell you." Krayn said "Will you do it or not?"

"And if I do," The man said "what would I get in return?"

"What do you mean?" Krayn asked.

"You never cease to amuse me, Krayn." The man laughed again "Surely you that my services are not free."

Krayn nodded solemnly.

"Yeah we knew you would bring this up." Krayn sighed "And we are ready to give you something that you've been wanting for a long time. Something that you were exiled for trying to get."

The man's body tensed up and Krayn knew that they were thinking of the same thing.

"If our plan works out well," Krayn said with a grin on his face "We will grant the only position higher than the council itself."

"You don't mean?" the man was genuinely in awe.

Krayn nodded.

"The Solkage." Krayn whispered "The Sun Shadow, the village leader."

"But we have not had a Solkage for decades!" The man was completely surprised "Why start now?"

"Our last Solkage was used as the first sacrifice decades ago to calm chaos the first time." Krayn explained "And we will return that position into the village government-"

The man strained to hear easier.

"Since Chaos will no longer comeback." Krayn said

Krayn got up to leave, knowing his point was very well taken.

"Wait!" The man called without standing up "What is it really that you are all planning?"

"Sorry teach," Krayn smirked "I can't tell you that remember?"

The man regained his earlier composure and began bargaining again.

"Consider those pesky sannin dead." He said with no emotion "But make sure you do not get in my way."

Krayn walked toward the door without turning around.

"Make sure that you do the same." He whispered.


	7. Chapter 6: Renewed Reason

_**CHAPTER 6: RENEWED REASON**_

"_Honestly though," Kairi continued "I seriously wonder why I even exist. The purpose in my life has already been decided for me and without me having a say in it."_

The band of heroes had walked past the afternoon and through the night. They passed through the meandering dirt road of the forest that bordered Circa and by the dawn of the next day they found themselves entering a swamp. The swamp's mist was so thick that it had extended out a few feet ahead of the actual swamp.

At first there was conversation between some of the members but they were all small talk and soon they fatigue of walking long miles into the night silenced them.

Somehow the sight of the swamp helped to regain some of their energy.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Jiraiya laughed "Swampland, my kind of place!"

"Are we close yet?" Orochimaru asked, obviously annoyed.

"Almost." Awren replied "Like I told you earlier, this is the first of the five cities we have to stop by. They each have a temple that the sacrifice needs to visit. The one we're head to right now is the elemental temple of the village Eclipse."

"Right." Orochimaru answered.

His energy miraculous returning, Jiraiya ran right into the mist. To assure that he did not hurt himself out of excitement, Awren and Orochimaru trudged faster to catch up with him.

This left Tsunade alone with Kairi.

"So you tired?" Tsunade asked

Kairi shrugged and nodded her head.

"Well, I don't really know where we're headed;" Tsunade continued "actually my comrades and I are only following Awren. Do you know where we're headed?"

They stepped in the mist. Soon their surroundings became blurred by the thickness of the mist and only the road in front of them could be clearly seen. Both the girls walked on.

"Eclipse, the first city that has a temple." Kairi explained without emotion "I'm supposed to pray inside and whatever special powers that the sprits inside have for me, I'm supposed to take it and use it against my battle with Chaos."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully without looking at Kairi.

"You seem to be a bit too calm for someone who..ummm…" Tsunade said.

"Who's about to give up her own life?" Kairi finished for her, a shadow of a smile faintly hung on her face "Yeah I know. I get that a lot. Everywhere I go, people seem to pity me. They think that just because I won't have the same life span as they do that I need special attention."

Tsunade walked on, still listening intently to the girl beside her.

"Honestly though," Kairi continued "I seriously wonder why I even exist. The purpose in my life has already been decided for me and without me having a say in it."

"Were you a child when they chose you as the sacrifice?" Tsunade asked.

"I was only ten years old." Kairi sighed

"You can't really blame them for making that decision for you." Tsunade said "You were a child then."

"Yeah I understand why they did that." Kairi nodded "And I don't mind dying to save the ones I care for. It's just sometimes I wonder what I could have done if I wasn't blocked away by anything, and if I didn't block my own way."

"Block your own way?" Tsunade asked "What do you mean?"

"Umm..well.." Kairi stuttered.

"It's okay, I understand." Tsunade cut in, seeing the obvious difficulty in her question "I shouldn't have asked. How did your parents take it? I mean you becoming a sacrifice and all."

Kairi shrugged.

"They were sad at first, but now they're proud of me." She replied "I know that they would rather that I stayed alive but they know without me everyone else would die."

Tsunade nodded now understanding that sacrifice was not only the title Kairi held, but it was her complete life. To be so self-sacrificing at such a young age, it would be so hard for Tsunade to know that her whole life would be given away. As one of the sannin, she knew full well how it was to put her own life on the line for the ones she loved, for her village. Even so, she never took a mission knowing ahead of time that she was going to die. It would kill her just to think of losing her loved ones.

Even though it usually took people time to grow on Tsunade, she already felt a sense of respect for this young girl and she was determined to make sure her last days was her best and purposeful.

Even if Tsunade had to give her own life.

The fields that they were walking on suddenly changed to swampland. Surrounding the dirt road, the mud was thick and looked deep.

"You talk to people a lot?" Tsunade asked

"No," Kairi shrugged her head "I talk to only my closest friends. Other than that I don't really open up to anyone else."

"So why are you opening up to me?"

"I don't know." Kairi answered "I guess now that my pilgrimage has started, it's finally setting in that I'm not going to live long enough to see my next year."

"Oh!" Tsunade said "So do you have anyone else you're going to miss?"

"Yeah, I have a few close friends." Kairi said "Sarai, Lorelelei, Beya, Michaela and Pia."

"All of those girls?" Tsunade asked

"Yeah, they're like sisters to me and I know I'll miss them." Kairi said

"So there are no guys that you're going to miss?" Tsunade asked

"I don't have many guy friends, don't really talk to them much." She answered

"Wow," Tsunade thought to herself "this girl has been completely deprived!"

After a few seconds of what seemed to be Kairi just walking in silence, she rephrased her previous answer.

"There is one," Kairi said "that I will miss."

"Who?" Tsunade asked, her attention fully on.

"His name's Fayt." Kairi answered "I've known him since I started going to school. He's the only guy friend that I have."

"Oh!" Tsunade said "So you like him?"

Kairi looked ahead into the mist seemingly trying to dodge the question. A few seconds of silence followed and Tsunade knew that she should forget the subject. She was about to change the subject when Kairi gave her answer.

"It doesn't matter know does it?" Kairi sighed "What could have been, or might have been, is now impossible. Besides he's a Jounin and I'm only a Chunin, he wouldn't like me even if I was his rank."

"Does he have a lot of girls talking to him?" Tsunade asked, suddenly taking an even greater interest.

"Yeah, he's pretty popular in the school and a lot of girls have been taking a liking to him." Kairi explained "Why?"

"I'm just wondering." Tsunade giggled "Trust me, I know guys. I have most of them coming to me at my home village!"

"Really?" Kairi blushed "Still it doesn't matter. Who would want to be with someone who they already know is going to die?"

"I don't know." Tsunade shrugged her shoulders "Maybe if I somehow met him, I might have been able to tell."

"Like I said," Kairi sighed "It's too late for all that now."

"Yeah I guess." Tsuande agreed

They both continued to walk through the silent mist and to their first stop.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

After a few hours a chatting and bonding, Kairi and Tsunade found their sight return past the immediate proximity and the giant wooden gates of Eclipse showed through the mist.

"Looks like we're here." Tsuande sighed "It felt faster than a few hours!"

"Yeah it did." Kairi replied "Now we have to find out where that temple is and finish it quick."

"You want to leave already?" Tsuande gasped playfully "Let's enjoy this place while we can! This place sure doesn't look like Circa!"

"Guess so," Kairi gave a smile "let's find the others first then decide what happens!"

Tsunade agreed.

They continued through the wooden gates. Unlike the grand homes of Circa, Eclipse looked like an old time village. The homes were small and one story. Made out of wood and bamboo sticks, this village looked a lot less advance than anything Kairi had ever seen. Even with the mist surrounding them and covering the sun, Kairi felt calm and serene without the everyday constant hustle of the city life that she was accustomed too.

All of the houses looked run down but still inhabitable. The colors of the houses were as pale as the mist that surrounded them. All of the houses looked uniform but still held their own sense of individuality.

Soon they felt small drops of rain fall on their heads.

"Looks like it's beginning to rain." Tsunade said opening her palm toward the sky.

They continued through the dirt road. Without much of direction, the two walked on admiring their surroundings, hoping that their comrades would find them.

"I think I like this place." Kairi said "It's nice and peaceful, all I need now is my friends."

The light in Kairi's face had returned as she imagined how happy they would be.

"Yeah guys!" A voice shouted

Both of them turned their heads and found Jiraiya waving at them from inside one of the shacks. The shack looked much similar to the other homes but it was bigger horizontally than the others. The sign that was placed over the roof of the shack was titled "Inn".

"Ha, it didn't take Jiraiya much time to find a place to sleep." Tsunade smiled "That lazy bum!"

They both walked into the inn and found themselves in a warm lit reception room. There were various couches and chairs set around wooden tables and even in front of a fireplace. There was a female receptionist talking to Jiraiya, with a wooden desk in between them.

The Inn was obviously not used much since there were only a few rooms that were marked as occupied and the fact that they lived in a swampland.

"So Jiraiya's a chick boy, too?" Kairi asked laughing "He should talk to Fayt."

"Ha!" Tsunade laughed "Jiraiya's a pervert! I don't think you want Fayt becoming perverted!"

They both shook their head out of laughter. They found Orochimaru and Awren sitting on chairs in front of the fireplace. Sitting down they found Awren half-asleep and Orochimaru deep in thought.

"Hey Fellas." Tsunade said sitting on a chair "What's going on?"

"Jiraiya is trying to get us a room." Orochimaru sighed "Since it's a female, it may take a while for her to either give us a room or slap him."

Kairi followed Tsunade and sat in the chair next to her. Next to them, Awren had started snoring.

"Sir Awren is tired?" Kairi asked

"Yeah," Orochimaru chuckled " He knocked out the moment he sat down. This is one of the best Jounin of your village?"

"You don't look so energetic yourself!" Tsunade chided "Give the guy a break he's been helping out night and day for Circa!"

A giggle came from the girl that Jiraiya was talking to.

"Yeah whatever," Orochimaru yawned "So how much longer do you think it will take before Jiraiya is done flirting with that girl and gets us a room?"

"Ha, so you are tired!" Tsunade laughed, she turned toward the desk where Jiraiya was standing "Hey Jiraiya, you can flirt with her later! We all need to get some rest!"

The girl blushed and Jiraiya gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't you worry!" Jiraiya laughed "I already got each of us a room. They're just getting it ready for us!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and sat in one of the couches near the fire and motioned for Kairi to do the same. With the first step she took, Kairi felt a wave of fatigue go through her body. She became dizzy and her head hurt. She stumbled to even get to the couch. The journey was already taking a toll on her.

The moment she felt herself sit on the couch, her head drifted until she felt her head land on something and she lost consciousness.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Slowly Kairi opened her eyes. She found herself staring up at a ceiling similar to the ceiling of the lobby, but she felt cushions under her. Somehow she had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up in a bed. Tsunade must have carried her there.

Kairi stretched and yawned loudly.

She slowly got up and looked around. The room was completely bare with only the bed she was laying on, a door to enter and exit, and a window to look outside. Having no idea exactly where she was or how long she had been out cold, Kairi decided to venture around. Out in the hall, she found herself surrounded by the same colored walls and even amount of doors entering into more rooms.

She found her way into the main lobby room. The room was empty except for the girl who gave them their rooms. Even though the hotel being empty was a normality, she looked very pleasant.

"Morning there." She smiled.

"Morning?" Kairi nearly jumped "I slept that long?"

"Yeah!" She nodded "The rest of your friends already left."

Kairi started to step out the hotel when she had an after thought.

"Do you have any idea where they went?" Kairi asked.

"I think they were saying something about going to the temple without you first so they could check it out." The girl answered, then with a timid voice she asked "Is it true…that you're the sacrifice?"

Kairi nodded and gave her a smile.

"Wow," She gaped stepping away from her desk "it's really nice meeting you!"

She extended her had and shook Kairi's when Kairi took it.

"My name is Yolei." She smiled "I knew nearly instantly that you and your group were no ordinary group!"

"Yeah," Kairi sighed "I get that a lot."

Yolei was still shaking her hand with her eyes filled with awe. Kairi still kept the smile on her face but was wondering why Yolei was still shaking her hand. When Yolei finally realized how awkward she was making it she slipped her hand away.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She blushed "It's just that we rarely get any visitors and now it turns out to be the sacrifice! You know you're like a celebrity here!"

"Really?" Kairi asked "I never would have thought I was that famous."

"Oh trust me you are!" Yolei laughed, and added as an after thought "You know, since you don't have to be at the temple yet and I get off now, would you like to go to my high school?"

"What?" Kairi taken back "Are you sure? I don't want to bother anyone!"

"Bother?!" Yolei gaped "There's no way you'll be bothering us, you'll actually make everyone happy!"

Kairi took a second to think about it.

The fire in the wooden fireplace was still burning brightly and warmly. The lobby was still empty except for the furniture but Kairi knew that there would be no one who would come. She really did not want to be a bother but Yolei seemed so excited to have her visit the school.

She sighed and nodded.

"All right, I'll go." She smiled

"Let's go then!" Yolei smiled "We head out after I close up!"

Kairi nodded and took a seat on one of the couches. She saw how happy Yolei was. So this was how she made people feel. Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe she did hold a purpose.

Even if that purpose was not for her and only for others, at least it was a purpose. She still let it run around in her head, but Yolei cut through her thoughts.

"I'm done!" Yolei said "Let's go to my school!"

"Okay!" Kairi agreed getting up.

As they walked through the door, Yolei locked the door and started walking on one of the roads.

"So," Yolei smiled with a twinkle in her eye "got a boyfriend?"

"No." Kairi shrugged

"That's good," Yolei laighed putting an arm around Kairi "because there are a lot cute boys at my school!"

Kairi rolled her eyes with a grin as they walked to her school.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

At the only High School in Eclipse, the students were having a free day since they were all finished with their finals. Most of the students were happy with their final grades while some were still fighting to bring up their grades. Those who did not have a passing grade still had half a year to survive.

The school was not that big and the amount of students was nothing very big. With about a hundred students for each year, it was still a small school but held very powerful young shinobi. Unlike other schools who had large buildings and fields to accommodate for their students, the school only had fifteen portables that held about thirty students for every period. Their field was only the grounds found near the school. The portables were positioned into an even square.

If a person wanted to do it, there was one grassy ledge near the school that would allow any person to see the entire school.

It was on this ledge that two students sat gazing at their entire school. Both were seniors and enjoying their passing grades.

The shorter one, by about five inches, had light blue spiked hair, a pair of glasses and had a small chubby face. He wore a long white zip up sweater with a white shirt underneath it. He wore jeans with a pair with brown sandals.

"We're finally done!" The light blue haired one laughed "One more semester to go and we're headed out into the world, you ready Jaden?"

The other stood up and stretched his hands as he yawned. His brown spiked hair bounced in the wind on his skinny round light brown face. He wore a bright red jacket with a plain white shirt under it. He wore a darker red pants and tall boots that were the same hue as his companion's sandal.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited about leaving this school and this village." Jaden laughed with relief "What about you, Sian?"

Sian continued to stay seated and yawned loudly. He gazed toward the misty sky that he had grown accustomed to and wondered how different it would be if he decided to move out.

"I don't know, Jaden." Sian thought out loud "I was thinking that maybe I would just stay here along with everyone else. The only person who would be crazy enough to leave Eclipse is you, Jaden!"

Sian was a quiet student and not many knew him personally. He was mostly called Jaden's best friend, but slowly he was beginning to prove himself with his great military mind and kindness. It did not matter much to him how people thought of him but he cared deeply for Jaden, whom he looked to as a bigger brother.

Jaden was well known in the school and everyone liked him. He was well known for his jutsu's with his staff, Beowin, but many people enjoyed his company and charm. His many talents had often elevated him in many minds as the one who would one day leave Eclipse and find a way to change the world for the better.

"Well yeah, I can't just live here! The village is so small; I mean I can see the whole school from this view!" Jaden pointed to his school "I want to see the world and someday make a name for myself!"

Suddenly a commotion came from the school. It looked like the majority of the school was headed straight into the middle of the quad and crowding into one point.

"I wonder what's going on." Jaden strained his neck

"What are you talking about?" Sian said, opening his eyes and leaned up.

Jaden tried to find what the commotion was all about. The crowd was beginning to grow in size and condensed even more. As hard as he tried, Jaden could not get a good view.

"Hey, Sian." Jaden said "Get on my back and see what's going on."

"Do I have to?" Sian moaned "I'm comfortable down here!"

"Just come on!" Jaden persisted "I want to see what's going on!"

Sian showed his laziness but followed what Jaden wanted him to do. Once he was on Jaden's back, he strained his eyes over the crowd to find

"I really can't see clearly," Sian said "but I think they're crowded around a person. It's a she."

"A she?" Jaden's eyebrows rose slightly "So a new girl that everyone is crowding around. Is she pretty?"

"I really can't tell how she looks." Sian said, covering his eyes from the sun's rays "Hey you know what, on second thought, I think she does look familiar."

"Oh man," Jaden sighed loud enough for Sian to hear "if Sian knows her then she's just nerd. Well, who knows maybe she might be a pretty nerd. She's probably smarter than I am!"

"Be quiet, Big Bro!" Sian said "I don't know her but I do know of her!"

The crowd still got tighter but there was a moment that space was given to the mystery celebrity to get some air. It was in that one moment that Sian realized who it was that was being crowded.

"Hey isn't she the sacrifice?" Sian said excitedly

"The Sacrifice!?" Jaden jumped "Let's go see her!"

Without putting Sian down, Jaden jumped off the ledge and prepared to run through the crowd.

"Hey Big Bro!" Sian screamed as Jaden jumped off the ledge "I'm still on your shoulder!"

He screamed the whole way down.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Kairi had shaken so many hands and hugged so many people that she lost count. It was quiet at first with only a few of Yolei's friends coming to greet her but slowly and steadily the word spread and more wanted to meet the famous sacrifice. In the thirty minutes that she had spent with the crowd she had taken more pictures with random people than she did her entire life with the friends she knew.

As tired as she was, she was beginning to…enjoy the popularity she was getting. She was not one to enjoy attention and enjoyed keeping to herself with friends but now she was getting a taste of she made people feel.

Even with the mist which at first made her feel lonely; she was beginning to fell better about herself the longer she was in Eclipse.

"See, what did I tell you?" Yolei smiled "I told you everyone would have loved to meet you!"  
"Yeah, I guess you were right." Kairi blushed "And this is actually pretty fun!"

Over the crowd, Kairi could see a light blue haired head a couple feet higher than the rest of his fellow students. His face reminded her of a little kid and Kairi thought it was comical that a face like that on a body that was seven feet tall.

"Excuse me, pardon me!" A voice came as the head followed, but it did not come from the head "I don't want to hurt you, please get out of the way!"

To Kairi's surprise it was not one body that burst through the crowd but two. One was on the shoulders of another. The one on top was shorter and looked happy with a smile on his face.

"Hey there!" He smiled "My name's Sian, I'm a really big fan! This is Jaden, my best friend!"

Kairi looked to where Sian was pointing downward. He a brown haired spiked and his bright red jacked made him more noticeable than the other students. Struggling to get Sian off of him, Jaden got him off and turned his head to face her.

She smiled involuntarily as they got eye contact and he gave her a smile.

"He has nice eyes." Kairi thought to herself

He walked toward her without breaking his gaze. The student's behind him seemed to disappear, she could barely even hear Yolei's voice introducing them.

"Hey Jaden!" Yolei greeted "This is the sacrifice, Kairi!"

Jaden reached out his hand for her.

"Hey," He smiled "like she said the name's Jaden."

She slowly took his right hand in hers and he clasped it with both of his hands. Feeling her face get red, Kairi broke her gaze and only stared at her hand clasped in his. This merely got her face even more red.

"Um, uhh," She stuttered "My name's…uhh"

Yolei gave her a confused look but she could see that Jaden was still smiling at her.

"You okay there Kairi?" Yolei asked

"Oh yeah," She blushed "My name's Kairi."

"Kairi." Jaden nodded "Wow, that a pretty name!"

Yolei still had a confused look on her face.

"You two seem to enjoy holding each other's hand." She said

To Kairi's dismay she felt her hands beginning to sweat. Quickly she slipped, mainly because of the sweat, her hand out of Jaden's hands.

"I'm sorry." Kairi said embarrassed.

"It's okay." Jaden assured

Now Jaden looked embarrassed, his eyes were diverted away from her. Though none of the other students noticed, Sian and Yolei knew what was happening between the two and were willing to accommodate. Lucky for them the crowd was beginning to disappear

"Hey Yolei!" Sian shouted over the crowd "I need your help on something back at class!"

"Back at class?" one of the students asked incredulously "You're the school nerd, what could you possibly need help on?"

"That..one…thing." Sian replied "The thing that they never taught us!"

"Oh sure of course!" Yolei said picking up the hint "Hey Jaden do you mind showing Kairi around? She's already met everyone pretty and she's also seen the entire school."

"So what else is there for me to show her?" Jaden asked

Yolei looked like she was thinking, but to Jaden's trained eyes of both his friends he knew they were up to something.

"Well what about…" Yolei trailed off

"How about the ledge?" Sian smiled innocently

"But the ledge can only hold two people!" Jaden pointed out.

"Exactly." Yolei slyly smiled

Suddenly both Jaden and Kairi knew what was happening.

"Give me a second." Jaden smiled at Kairi "I'll show you around, but I need to have Sian do something, okay?"

"Okay." Kairi nodded.

Jaden walked back to his friend and kept his back toward Kairi.

"So you think he's cute?" Yolei asked

"Uhhh..what are you talking about?" Kairi gave a cute innocent face

"Uh huh, yeah sure." Yolei joked "I could see you get all red when you guys held hands!"

"We did not hold hands!" Kairi defended

She slapped Yolei playfully on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, he's a good person." Yolei promised "He's an awesome guy and he's one of the guys I would trust with my life!"

"Oh," Kairi sighed "all right."

Meanwhile Jaden and Sian were having their own conversation.

"She's kinda cute, isn't she?" Sian smiled

"Whatever," Jaden said "hey could you do me a favor?"

Jaden was checking his hair and visibly checking how he looked.

"Yeah, I get it." Sian nodded "Yolei and I will disappear for a bit so you can talk to your new girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jaden said defensively, but was suddenly preoccupied with his hair "Hey you think my hair looks okay? Man, I knew I should have gotten a haircut!"

"You look fine Big Bro." Sian assured "Just go on, she looks like she's already into you as it is."

"You really think so?" Jaden asked, no longer hiding his attraction

"Yeah, trust me." Sian said

"How do you know?" Jaden said nervously

"You can ask Yolei this." Sian said "The only thing that was more red than your face was hers!"

"Oh yeah." Jaden said "Even her palms were sweaty."

Sian grabbed Jaden's shoulders and turned him around so that they were looking at the two girls. Though there was only a few remnants of the crowd, it would not be very difficult for Jaden to get to the ledge.

"All right, I've been holding you back when a cute girl wants to talk to you," Sian said, faking a smile toward Yolei "go on ahead!"

"But I feel bad!" Jaden said between a fake smile "I don't want to leave you alone!"

Sian began pushing him toward Kairi. Jaden's boots pushed against the dirt beneath it.

"Hey don't worry about me!" Sian promised "I'll hang out with Yolei!"

They finally reached Kairi.

"So Yolei," Sian said "come on help me out with that one thing!"

"Of course!" Yolei laughed.

She grabbed Sian by the shoulder and they started to walk off.

"We'll see you two later!" Sian said.

"Yeah," Yolei said "We'll be busy so just take your time!"

All now all that was left was Jaden and Kairi. There was a little awkwardness in the air. Kairi was twiddling her thumbs and Jaden's hands were in his pockets while he was moving dirt under the top of his boot.

"So," Jaden said breaking the silence "you've seen the entire school already?"

"Uh huh." Kairi said still looking at her fingers

"Yolei is pretty fast huh?" Jaden gave a forced laugh

Kairi nodded.

"So do you want to see the ledge?" Jaden asked hopefully "You could see the whole school from up there!"

"Cool!" Kairi said finally looking up.

"All right!" Jaden smiled "Follow me!"

And with that they started walking to Jaden's favorite spot.

Somewhere near them, two friends were smiling widely as they saw that Jaden was finally able to talk to Kairi.

"Aw, how cute!" Yolei laughed "Did you see how nervous they were? So even the great Jaden gets nervous!"

"Haha, yeah I've never seen Big Bro at a lost fro words in front of any girl!" Sian agreed "It's usually just the girl who's speechless in front of him."

"Yeah, which I don't get!" Yolei said

"Hey, I remember when you had a crush on Jaden!" Sian pointed out "You were speechless also!"

"Oh yeah," Yolei blushed we don't need to remember that!"

They started walking away, but Sian still did not drop the subject.

"Oh man I remember when you could barely stand next to Jaden without giggling and turning red!" He chided.

"Shut up, squirt!" Yolei said embarrassed "Hey everyone else liked him!"

"Yeah," Sian smiled "but none of them ever accidentally publicly told Jaden that they had a dream about him!"  
"Why you little!" Yolei pounced

Sian ran as quickly as he could from the wrath of Yolei.


End file.
